Condition monitoring of SiC MOSFETs on LLC resonant converter

Wang, Patrick John

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/110734 Copy

Description

Title

Condition monitoring of SiC MOSFETs on LLC resonant converter

Author(s)

Wang, Patrick John

Issue Date

2021-04-26

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Banerjee, Arijit

Department of Study

Electrical & Computer Eng

Discipline

Electrical & Computer Engr

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Silicon Carbide
• MOSFET
• Reliability
• Condition Monitoring
• DC-DC converter
• Power Electronics
• Gate Driver Circuits
• LLC resonant converter

Abstract

Silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs are widely acknowledged for low loss, fast switching and remarkable thermal conductivity compared to silicon (Si) counterparts. SiC-based power electronic converters, therefore, are optimal when operated at medium voltage to high voltage in high switching frequency applications, which results in a much higher power density than Si-based power converters. The reliability of SiC devices, however, remains a significant hindrance to their wide adoption in power electronics in transportation, industry and military applications. Real-time condition monitoring of SiC devices in SiC-based power converters addresses the reliability issues by providing an early sign of potential failure. Since one of the most consistent failure precursors of a degraded SiC MOSFET is an increase of gate leakage current, a circuitry is developed to track and estimate the on-state gate leakage current of the device during operation. To demonstrate the functionality of the proposed method, an LLC full-bridge resonant converter that operates at a medium voltage and high switching frequency was designed and used to obtain the experimental results. This converter will operate at various duty ratios, DC-link voltages, switching frequencies and output loads to show the consistency and accuracy of the proposed condition monitoring method. With proper calibration, this cost-effective method obtains an accurate gate leakage estimation which opens opportunities to perform prognostic and health monitoring of SiC devices.

Graduation Semester

2021-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110734

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2021 Patrick Wang

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