High Frequency Power Cycling of Three-Phase Inverters for Aircraft Applications

Alice H. T. Silva; Bernardo Cougo; Gilles Segond; Marco V. T. Andrade; Duc-Hoan Tran; Renata O. de Sousa; Lenin M. F. Morais

doi:10.18618/REP.e202637

Authors

Alice H. T. Silva Federal University of Minas Gerais
Bernardo Cougo IRT Saint Exupéry https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1297-2427
Gilles Segond IRT Saint Exupéry
Marco V. T. Andrade IRT Saint Exupéry https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3068-1540
Duc-Hoan Tran IRT Saint Exupéry https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9273-8640
Renata O. de Sousa Federal University of Technology – Paraná https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9556-5260
Lenin M. F. Morais Federal University of Minas Gerais https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1680-0400

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18618/REP.e202637

Keywords:

Power cycling, SiC MOSFET, thermal camera, thermal characterization, power losses

Abstract

Accurate thermal cycle measurement is essential for estimating the lifetime of power modules, particularly those employing SiC MOSFETs characterized by extremely low thermal capacitance. This work presents a rigorous method for estimating the die temperature variation of SiC components within power modules utilized in three-phase inverters. The approach leverages high-speed thermal imaging to accurately characterize the individual thermal impedance of each die. The resulting thermal impedance model is coupled with high-fidelity loss calculations to predict dynamic SiC die temperatures during inverter operation. Experimental results obtained under conditions representative of a 540 V / 7.5 kW aeronautical inverter demonstrate the model's accuracy in tracking dynamic SiC die temperature variations.

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Author Biographies

Alice H. T. Silva, Federal University of Minas Gerais

received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 2021 and 2024, respectively. She spent 6 months in 2023 at IRT Saint Exupery, Toulouse, France as intern working on thermal impedance of SiC power modules. Her research interests include SiC MOSFETs, thermal cycling, thermal impedance, semiconductor losses, and thermal imaging.

Bernardo Cougo, IRT Saint Exupéry

was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 1980. He received the B.S. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from the UFMG/Brazil in 2003 and 2005, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from the Institut National Polytechnique, Toulouse, France, in 2010. He also studied at the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA, in 2001. He worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow with the PES Laboratory ETH-Zurich, in Switzerland, and also with LAAS and LAPLACE laboratories, Toulouse, France. He is currently working as a Power Electronics Expert with the French Institute of Research IRT Saint-Exupery, Toulouse, France. He has taught in different universities in Brazil and France. He advises several Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows on research projects related to SiC and GaN power module and converters, mainly for aircraft applications. He has more than 80 publications since 2008 about power electronics integration and WBG semiconductor characterization and applications.

Gilles Segond, IRT Saint Exupéry

was born in 1962. He is specialized in power electronics since 1989, specifically on the design of prototypes and demonstrators. He also integrated company CIRTEM (Toulouse, France) in the prototype design office for 25 years, where he carried out the design, supervised the industrialization, and validated energy conversion systems. Since 2014, he has been a research engineer at IRT Saint Exupéry, working on advanced power electronics projects focused on SiC and GaN technologies. He has expertise in converter integration, power component selection, and qualification testing, he combines extensive industrial experience with R&D activities focused on technology transfer.

Marco V. T. Andrade, IRT Saint Exupéry

received the B.S. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from the UFMG/Brazil, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 2020 and 2023. He worked as a research engineer at the Research Institute IRT Saint-Exupery (Toulouse – France), from 2022 to 2026. He is interested in all aspects of power electronics design, hardware, and control, as well as testing and characterization methods.

Duc-Hoan Tran, IRT Saint Exupéry

was born in Nam Dinh, Vietnam, in 1983. He received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST), Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2006, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from ENSEEIHT–INP, Toulouse, France, in 2007 and 2010, respectively. From 2010 to 2013, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Laplace Laboratory, Toulouse, France. From 2013 to 2015, he was with ALTRAN Technology. He is currently a Power Electronics Engineer with IRT Saint-Exupéry, Toulouse, France. His research interests include wide-bandgap (WBG) power converters, electric powertrain optimization, and electric motor control.

Renata O. de Sousa, Federal University of Technology – Paraná

received the B.S. degree in engineering from the Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil, in 2018, the M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 2019, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, in 2022. From 2021 to 2022, she was a Guest Ph.D. student with the Department of Energy, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark. She is currently a Professor at the Department of Electronics, Federal University of Technology - Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil. Her main research interests include the reliability of power electronics-based systems, multilevel converters, smart battery-based storage systems, and the power supply and control of instrumented systems with fiber optic sensors.

Lenin M. F. Morais, Federal University of Minas Gerais

received the bachelor’s degree, the master’s degree, and the doctor’s degree, all in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 2000, 2002, and 2007, respectively. He is currently a Full Professor with the Electronics Engineering Department, Federal University of Minas Gerais. He was a Postdoctoral Intern with the Laboratoire Plasma et Conversion d’Energie - LAPLACE, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France, and with the Institut de Recherche Technologique - IRT Saint Exupéry, Toulouse, France. IEEE Senior Member and member of the IEEE Power Electronics Society, and Member of SOBRAEP (Brazilian Power Electronics Society) since 2005. He has experience in the field of electrical engineering, with emphasis on power electronics, industrial electronics, and electronic systems and controls. His research interests mainly include the following: projects of converters with high density of power/high performance, electronic reactors for high intensity discharge lamps, power LEDs, circuits for power factor correction, repetitive control, control based on passivity, PWM methods.

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