HVDC and FACTS converters employing SiC power semiconductors. Part 1: HVSiC devices and their commutation

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Project abstract

This project aims to investigate possibilities/challenges/requirements of high voltage (>10kV) SiC semiconductor devices for high power applications. The promising material properties of SiC as semiconductor material gives superior operating performance in comparison to Si (e.g., higher blocking voltage capability, operated at higher switching frequencies and at higher temperatures) which may offer system level benefits such as reduced number of devices/cells, less complex system and reduced cooling requirement and station foot-print. Accurate device simulation studies are required to predict the performance of these high voltage SiC devices and to extract the static and dynamic characteristics in a wide operating range. The project outcome may serve as input in power electronic converter cell/system design, in HVDC, FACTS and other high power applications.

Summary of work

2015. At this point, a literature study is carried out to cover the current status of the SiC semiconductor device research field and to identify challenges and research opportunities of different HV SiC device concepts, for instance, series/parallel/matrix configurations of multiple medium voltage devices, large wafer area devices and hybrid device solutions.

2016. The results of the first work package were finalized and presented at WiPDA2016 (4th IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications). Within this study, the theoretical performance of ultra-high voltage SiC devices (SiC MOSFET, SiC IGBT and SiC GTO) were investigated. The conduction power loss and switching power loss were predicted and compared with different modelling approaches, for SiC MOSFETs up to 20 kV and SiC GTO thyristors and SiC IGBTs up to 50 kV.

2017. The second work package, about experimental characterization of 10 kV 100 A SiC MOSFET power modules, covering measurements of the static characteristics (i.e., I-V, C-V, body diode, leakage current and blocking voltage characteristics) and dynamic characteristics (i.e., switching transients, switching losses and short-circuit characteristics), are published in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

2018. The Technology CAD (TCAD) finite-element simulation model has been calibrated and verified against experimental data of a 15 kV silicon carbide (SiC) bipolar junction transistor (BJT). The device structure of the high voltage BJT has been implemented in the Synopsys Sentaurus TCAD simulation platform and design of experiment simulations have been performed to extract and fine-tune device parameters and 4H-SiC material parameters to accurately reflect the 15 kV SiC BJT experimental results. The findings are presented at the ECSCRM2018 (European Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials) conference.

2019-2020. Work related to TCAD simulations of high voltage bipolar SiC devices: An IGBT model in TCAD was calibrated against previously reported experimental data which was then used to predict the static and dynamic performance in ultrahigh voltage SiC IGBTs. The findings were presented in the ICSCRM conference (Kyoto) and in one journal paper (IEEE Transaction on Power Electronics).

2020-2021. The work related to junction termination structures in ultrahigh-voltage devices is summarized in a journal paper (IEEE Open Journal of Power Electronics). In this work, the JTE length requirements, design guide lines, and active area ratios for 20-50 kV devices are presented. The dynamic avalanche and current filamentation onset limits for high voltage SiC diodes are investigated by TCAD simulations. The findings are presented in IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics. The ultrahigh-voltage (20-50kV) SiC GTO thyristor performance are assessed and compared to ultrahigh-voltage SiC IGBTs and state-of-the-art Si BIGTs, employed in a high-power MMC-based HVDC application example. The modeling approach and simulation results are presented in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. The PhD thesis was written and defended during spring 2021.

Event log

2015. Participation at two conferences to present previous work, gain knowledge and ideas. International Conference of Silicon Carbide and Related Materials, ICSCRM2015, Giardini Naxos, Italy. IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications, WiPDA, in Blacksburg, US.

2016. Attended the IEEE Energy Conversion Congress & Expo (ECCE2016) conference in Milwaukee, US.

2016. Presented at WiPDA2016 (4th IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications) in Fayetteville, US.

2017. Attended the International Conference of Silicon Carbide and Related Materials, ICSCRM2017, Italy.

2018. Presented at ECSCRM2018 (European Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials) conference, Birmingham, UK.

2019. Presented at ICSCRM2019 (International Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials) conference, Kyoto, Japan.

Project reference-group

Muhammad Nawaz,  Hitachi ABB Power Grids Research
Frans Dijkhuizen,  Hitachi ABB Power Grids Research
Nan Chen,  Hitachi ABB Power Grids Research
Kalle Ilves,  Hitachi ABB Power Grids Research
Jan Svensson,  Hitachi ABB Power Grids Research
Hans-Peter Nee,  KTH

Publications by this researcher

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Comparative Evaluation of Voltage Source Converters With Silicon Carbide Semiconductor Devices for High-Voltage Direct Current Transmission
Keijo Jacobs,   Stefanie Heinig,   Daniel Johannesson,   Staffan Norrga,   Hans-Peter Nee.
2021,   IEEE transactions on power electronics, vol. 36(8)

Evaluation of Ultrahigh-Voltage 4H-SiC Gate Turn-Off Thyristors and Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistors for High-Power Applications
Daniel Johannesson,   Muhammad Nawaz,   Staffan Norrga,   Hans-Peter Nee.
2021,   IEEE transactions on power electronics

Static and Dynamic Performance Prediction of Ultra-High-Voltage Silicon Carbide Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistors
Daniel Johannesson,   Muhammad Nawaz,   Staffan Norrga,   Anders Hallén,   Hans-Peter Nee.
2021,   IEEE transactions on power electronics, vol. 36(5)

Ultrahigh-Voltage Silicon Carbide Device Performance, Requirements, and Limitations in High-Power Applications
Daniel Johannesson.
2021,   Thesis (PhD), KTH Royal Institute of Technology, TRITA-EECS-AVL 2021:37

Assessment of Junction Termination Extension Structures For Ultrahigh-Voltage Silicon Carbide Pin-Diodes; A Simulation Study
Daniel Johannesson,   Muhammad Nawaz,   Hans-Peter Nee.
2021,   IEEE Open Journal of Power Electronics, vol. 2

Dynamic Avalanche Limit and Current Filamentation Onset Limit in 4H-Silicon Carbide High-Voltage Diodes
Daniel Johannesson,   Muhammad Nawaz,   Hans-Peter Nee.
2021,   IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics

Wide-Range Prediction of Ultra-High Voltage SiC IGBT Static Performance Using Calibrated TCAD Model
Daniel Johannesson,   Keijo Jacobs,   Staffan Norrga,   Anders Hallén,   Muhammad Nawaz,   Hans-Peter Nee.
2020,   18th International Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials 2019 (ICSCRM 2019)

TCAD Model Calibration of High Voltage 4H-SiC Bipolar Junction Transistors
Daniel Johannesson,   Muhammad Nawaz,   Hans-Peter Nee.
2019,   12th European Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials (ECSCRM 2018)

Assessment of 10 kV, 100 A Silicon Carbide MOSFET Power Modules
Daniel Johannesson,   Muhammad Nawaz,   Kalle Ilves.
2018,   IEEE transactions on power electronics, vol. 33(6)

MMC Converter Cells Employing Ultrahigh-Voltage SiC Bipolar Power Semiconductors
Keijo Jacobs,   Daniel Johannesson,   Staffan Norrga,   Hans-Peter Nee.
2017,   19th European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications (EPE ECCE Europe), SEP 11-14, 2017, Warsaw, Poland

Development of a Simple Analytical PSpice Model for SiC-Based BJT Power Modules
Daniel Johannesson,   Muhammad Nawaz.
2016,   IEEE transactions on power electronics, vol. 31(6)

Analytical PSpice model for SiC MOSFET based high power modules
Daniel Johannesson,   Muhammad Nawaz.
2016,   Microelectronics Journal, vol. 53

Potential of Ultra-High Voltage Silicon Carbide Semiconductor Devices
Daniel Johannesson,   Muhammad Nawaz,   Keijo Jacobs,   Staffan Norrga,   Hans-Peter Nee.
2016,   4th IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA), NOV 07-09, 2016, Fayetteville, AR

Investigation of the Surge Current Capability of the Body Diode of SiC MOSFETs for HVDC Applications
Diane-Perle Sadik,   Stefanie Heinig,   Keijo Jacobs,   Daniel Johannesson,   Jan-Kwon Lim,   Muhammad Nawaz,   Frans Dijkhuizen,   Mietek Bakowski,   Staffan Norrga,   Hans-Peter Nee.
2016,   18th European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications (EPE), SEP 05-09, 2016, GERMANY

Development of a PSpice Model for SiC MOSFET Power Modules
Daniel Johannesson,   Muhammad Nawaz.
2015,   16th International Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials, Giardini Naxos, Italy, October 4 - 9, 2015

Assessment of PSpice model for commercial SiC MOSFET power modules
Daniel Johannesson,   Muhammad Nawaz.
2015,   2015 IEEE 3rd Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA)

Development of a PSPICE Model for 1200 V/800 A SiC Bipolar Junction Transistor Power Module
Daniel Johannesson,   Muhammad Nawaz.
2014,   European Conference on Silicon Carbide & Related Materials (ECSCRM)

Publication list last updated from DiVA on 2024-01-10 15:20.

Page started: 2015-09-01
Last generated: 2024-01-10