Towards a next-generation hybrid switch: Challenges and insights on the parallelization of SiC-MOSFET and Si-IGBT

Pedro H. G. Vilela; Edmar F. Cota; Heverton A. Pereira; Tomás P. Corrêa; Allan F. Cupertino

doi:10.18618/REP.e202523

Authors

Pedro H. G. Vilela Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2410-1797
Edmar F. Cota Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4022-5162
Heverton A. Pereira Universidade Federal de Viçosa https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0710-7815
Tomás P. Corrêa Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3574-5972
Allan F. Cupertino Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8418-1985

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18618/REP.e202523

Keywords:

Hybrid Switch, Silicon IGBT, Silicon Carbide MOSFET, Parallelization, Cost-effective Design

Abstract

The application of hybrid semiconductor switches (HyS) emerges as a solution to the increasing demand for higher switching frequency and power density at a competitive cost. This paper investigates a HyS based on Si-IGBT (silicon-insulated gate bipolar transistor) in parallel with a SiC-MOSFET (silicon carbide-metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor), highlighting the main
characteristics and challenges to obtain a cost-effective device. Simulations in PLECS and LT-Spice reveal significant phenomena that arise during the conduction and switching of HyS devices. Experimental tests conducted on a double pulse test circuit validate the initial analyses and compare HyS switching losses with the standard solution based on IGBT. Finally, some insights on this technology are provided.

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Author Biographies

Pedro H. G. Vilela , Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais

received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais (CEFET-MG) in 2022. His final course work in the field of Power Electronics was awarded the 1st Prize Award at the 2023 Myron Zucker Undergraduate Student Design Contest by the IEEE and the Best Final Course Project Award - 2023 Edition by SOBRAEP.

Edmar F. Cota, Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais

received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) in 2014 and an M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in 2016. He was a substitute professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais (CEFET MG) in Belo Horizonte between 2016 and 2018, he is currently a Professor in the Department of Electronic and Biomedical at the same institution. His main research interests are the characterization of semiconductor devices, applications and control of power converters.

Heverton A. Pereira, Universidade Federal de Viçosa

received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil, in 2007, the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Campinas, Brazil, in 2009, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 2015. He was a visiting Researcher with the Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Denmark, in 2014. In 2009, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Viçosa, where he is currently Professor. Since 2017 he has been a member of the pos-graduation program in Electrical Engineering from UFSJ/CEFET-MG and since 2020 he is Coordinator of Specialization in Photovoltaic System at Federal University of Viçosa. His research interests include grid-connected converters for photovoltaic systems and battery energy storage systems.

Tomás P. Corrêa, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

received the Doctor degree from the University of Alcala, Spain, in 2019, and M.Sc and B.Sc degree in Electrical Engineering, from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 2008 and 2006, respectively. He is an Assistant Professor at Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, since 2019. Between 2012 and 2015, he was with AVL List, Austria, working as a development engineer in the field of automotive test systems. Before he held different positions in industry, always working in R&D in the field of power electronics.

Allan F. Cupertino, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora

received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) in 2013, the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in 2015 and 2019, respectively. He was a guest Ph.D. at the Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University from 2018 to 2019. From 2014 to 2022, he was an Assistant Professor in the area of electric machines and power electronics at the Federal Center of Technological Education of Minas Gerais (CEFET). Since 2023, he has been with the Department of Electrical Energy at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF). His main research interests include renewable energy conversion systems, smart battery energy storage systems, cascaded multilevel converters, and reliability of power electronics. Prof. Cupertino was the recipient of the President Bernardes Silver Medal in 2013, the SOBRAEP Ph.D. Thesis Award in 2020 and the IAS CMD Ph.D. Thesis Contest in 2021. He is a member of the Brazilian Power Electronics Society (SOBRAEP) and Brazilian Society of Automatics (SBA).

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