Utilization of SiC MOSFETs in Voltage Source Inverter of Inductive Power Transfer Systems for Enduring Capacitive Loads

In this work, the use of SiC MOSFETs is proposed for the implementation of the H-bridge Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) of Inductive Power Transfer Systems (IPTSs) in order to successfully support potential capacitive loading. Conventional power semiconductor devices are prevented from feeding capacitive loads because of the occurrence of current overshoots and voltage spikes due to the reverse recovery phenomenon of the antiparallel diodes. Operation of the VSI under capacitive load can be caused in IPTSs during resonant frequency tracking or misalignment between the coupled coils, due to the existence of resonant circuits. Experiments conducted with both Si and SiC MOSFETs show the superiority of the latter in terms of system stability, endurance in high power and avoidance of catastrophic failure.