PERFORMANCE OF A 600-V, 30-A, BI-DIRECTIONAL SILICON CARBIDE SOLID-STATE CIRCUIT BREAKER

Bi-directional solid-state circuit breakers (BDSSCBs) can provide performance benefits over mechanical fault protection devices. A common-source configuration of normally ON, junction field effect transistors (JFETs) is favorable for BDSSCB implementations. SiC 0.1-cm2 1200-V JFETs designed for normally-ON operation at a zero-volt gate bias, and having low leakage currents, were used in the fabrication of a 30-A BDSSCB switch module. Operation of the module under continuous current and during turn-OFF transitions was evaluated to verify the parallel scalability of the common-source configuration. A bi-directional snubber connected across the switch module mitigated inductive voltage overshoot during BDSSCB turn-OFF transitions. At turn-OFF, under maximum power tests in both directions, the load current was reduced from 30 A to 0 A in approximately 10 μs, with a supply voltage of 600 V, and a BDSSCB peak voltage of 680 V. These results demonstrate the functionality and current scalability of this BDSSCB topology.

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Design of 400 V Miniature DC Solid State Circuit Breaker with SiC MOSFET

Micromachines ◽

10.3390/mi10050314 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 314 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hui Li ◽

Renze Yu ◽

Yi Zhong ◽

Ran Yao ◽

Xinglin Liao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solid State ◽

Field Effect Transistors ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Circuit Breaker ◽

Oxide Semiconductor ◽

Dc Microgrid ◽

Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor ◽

Prototype Development ◽

Solid State Circuit ◽

Solid State Circuit Breaker

Silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) have the advantages of high-frequency switching capability and the capability to withstand high temperatures, which are suitable for switching devices in a direct current (DC) solid state circuit breaker (SSCB). To guarantee fast and reliable action of a 400 V DC SSCB with SiC MOSFET, circuit design and prototype development were carried out. Taking 400V DC microgrid as research background, firstly, the topology of DC SSCB with SiC MOSFET was introduced. Then, the drive circuit of SiC MOSFET, fault detection circuit, energy absorption circuit, and snubber circuit of the SSCB were designed and analyzed. Lastly, a prototype of the DC SSCB with SiC MOSFET was developed, tested, and compared with the SSCB with Silicon (Si) insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). Experimental results show that the designed circuits of SSCB with SiC MOSFET are valid. Also, the developed miniature DC SSCB with the SiC MOSFET exhibits faster reaction to the fault and can reduce short circuit time and fault current in contrast with the SSCB with Si IGBT. Hence, the proposed SSCB can better meet the requirements of DC microgrid protection.

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BI-DIRECTIONAL SCALABLE SOLID-STATE CIRCUIT BREAKERS FOR HYBRID-ELECTRIC VEHICLES

International Journal of High Speed Electronics and Systems ◽

10.1142/s0129156409006242 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 19 (01) ◽

pp. 183-192 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

D. P. URCIUOLI ◽

VICTOR VELIADIS

Keyword(s):

Solid State ◽

Circuit Breaker ◽

Fault Isolation ◽

Small Scale ◽

Common Source ◽

Circuit Breakers ◽

Device Structure ◽

Solid State Circuit ◽

Transition Speed ◽

Hybrid Electric

Power electronics in hybrid-electric military ground vehicles require fast fault isolation, and benefit additionally from bi-directional fault isolation. To prevent system damage or failure, maximum fault current interrupt speeds in tens to hundreds of microseconds are necessary. While inherently providing bi-directional fault isolation, mechanical contactors and circuit breakers do not provide adequate actuation speeds, and suffer severe degradation during repeated fault isolation. Instead, it is desired to use a scalable array of solid-state devices as a solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) having a collectively low conduction loss to provide large current handling capability and fast transition speed for current interruption. Although, both silicon-carbide (SiC) JFET and SiC MOSFET devices having high breakdown voltages and low drain-to-source resistances have been developed, neither device structure alone is capable of reverse blocking at full voltage. Limitations exist for using a dual common-source structure for either device type. Small-scale SSCB experiments were conducted using 0.03 cm2 normally-on SiC VJFETs. Based on results of these tests, a normally-on VJFET device modification is made, and a proposed symmetric SiC JFET is considered for this application.

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A Digital-Controlled SiC-Based Solid State Circuit Breaker with Soft Switch-Off Method for DC Power System

Electronics ◽

10.3390/electronics8080837 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. 837 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Qin ◽

Mo ◽

Xun ◽

Zhang ◽

Dong

Keyword(s):

Solid State ◽

Field Effect Transistors ◽

Cooling System ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Circuit Breaker ◽

Short Circuit Current ◽

Oxide Semiconductor ◽

Circuit Breakers ◽

Solid State Circuit ◽

Protection Method

Due to the lower on-state resistance, direct current (DC) solid state circuit breakers (SSCBs) based on silicon-carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) can reduce on-state losses and the investment of the cooling system when compared to breakers based on silicon (Si) MOSFETs. However, SiC MOSFETs, with smaller die area and higher current density, lead to weaker short-circuit ability, shorter short-circuit withstand time and higher protection requirements. To improve the reliability and short-circuit capability of SiC-based DC solid state circuit breakers, the short-circuit fault mechanisms of Si MOSFETs and SiC MOSFETs are revealed. Combined with the desaturation detection (DESAT), a “soft turn-off” short-circuit protection method based on source parasitic inductor is proposed. When the DESAT protection is activated, the “soft turn-off” method can protect the MOSFET against short-circuit and overcurrent. The proposed SSCB, combined with the flexibility of the DSP, has the μs-scale ultrafast response time to overcurrent detection. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by the experimental platform. The method can reduce the voltage stress of the power device, and it can also suppress the short-circuit current.

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