Medium Voltage Silicon Carbide Power Components
Navy SBIR 2016.1 - Topic N161-066
ONR - Ms. Lore-Anne Ponirakis - loreanne.ponirakis@navy.mil
Opens: January 11, 2016 - Closes: February 17, 2016

N161-066 TITLE: Medium Voltage Silicon Carbide Power Components

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Electronics, Ground/Sea Vehicles, Weapons

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PEO Ships: PMS 320 Electric Ships Office

OBJECTIVE: Develop medium voltage (6500V, >100A) silicon carbide (SiC) metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) dual half-bridge power switching module. The module will implement an anti-parallel diode utilizing the SiC MOSFET internal body diode to enable high-power density, multi-megawatt power electronic converters for propulsion motor drives and shipboard power distribution.

DESCRIPTION: Future all-electric warships will have a greater demand for improved electrical power density, conversion, and system reliability. Over the last decade, significant advances have been made with medium voltage silicon carbide (SiC) devices. However, few commercial modules are available above 3300V, and the technology remains cost prohibitive. This topic addresses the development of medium voltage, high current power electronic switching modules that can be applied to 1 MW/m3, propulsion motor drives and shipboard power distribution system elements to meet the needs of these greater demands. These modules must provide a cost structure of less than $45/A with medium voltage SiC devices without compromising performance. Future Navy ships will require high power converters for applications such as electromagnetic rail gun, Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR), and propulsion on comparable displacement, future DDG-51 ship platforms.

The 6500 V silicon carbide dual half-bridge power MOSFET module should have the characteristics of 1) high-speed switching with low capacitances and inductances, 2) high blocking voltage with low on-resistance, 3) easy to parallel and simple to drive, 4) avalanche ruggedness, and 5) high reliability .

The proposed SiC MOSFET dual half-bridge power module will meet the following thresholds:

• Drain-source blocking voltage greater than 6500 volts with drain-source leakage less than 10 microamperes

• On-resistance less than 40 milliohms at 20 V gate voltage and 150 °C junction temperature

• Continuous drain current greater than 100 amperes for 20 V gate voltage and 150 °C junction temperature

• Gate-to-source charge less than 100 nanocoulombs

• Gate Threshold Voltage greater than 2.0 V at 150 °C junction temperature

• Gate-to-source leakage current less than 600 nanoamperes at gate-source voltage of 20 V

• Short-circuit withstand time of greater than 10 microseconds

• Avalanche energy for a single pulse greater than 4 joules

• Rise time less than 100 nanoseconds (ns) and fall time less than 100 ns

• Module isolation voltage greater than 10,000 volts

• Cost structure less than $45/A

PHASE I: Determine feasibility and establish a plan for the design and development of 6500V, 100A silicon carbide dual half-bridge power module. The module will be designed for low inductance, low thermal resistance, and high reliability. The SiC MOSFET power module should be designed to utilize the internal body diode within the SiC MOSFET power switch process as the anti-parallel diode without an additional diode in the module. Demonstrate by design module inductance level, module thermal resistance, module thermal cycling capability, module current level, number of die per module, and estimating module production costs for various lot sizes. Final report should convince that the proposed product can be properly designed to meet the previously described desired and required features can and be achieved if Phase II is awarded. The small business will provide a Phase II development plan addressing technical risk reduction.

PHASE II: Develop and demonstrate a 6500V, 100A silicon carbide dual half-bridge power module with low inductance, low capacitance, low thermal resistance and high stability. The SiC MOSFET power switch module should be designed to utilize the internal body diode within the SiC MOSFET power switch as the anti-parallel diode (without an external separate anti-parallel diode). Demonstrate that the on-resistance of the 6500, 100 A SiC MOSFET power switch module is stable with operation time and does not suffer from blocking voltage degradation or on-resistance drift due to stacking fault growth during forward bias of the internal body diode. Demonstrate stable operation of gate threshold voltage (HTGB at 150 °C with VGS = -25V for 1000 hours), stable blocking voltage (HTRB at 150 °C for 80 percent of blocking voltage for 1000 hours), and stable forward voltage (less than +/- 20 percent change when operated at 150 °C junction temperature for 300 hours). Characterize the 6500 V, 100 A SiC MOSFET power switch module turn-on and turn-off losses up to 150 °C. Develop a reliability test plan to meet threshold metrics.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Phase III shall address the commercialization of the product developed as a prototype in Phase II. The small business is expected to work with suitable industrial partners for this transition to military programs and civilian applications. The expected final state of this 6500V, 100A module will match the requirements given in Phase II and will be suitable for transition into a multi-megawatt Power Control Module for interface from ship bus to radar interface. The medium voltage silicon carbide components will enable cost-effective semiconductor based high-power devices for solid-state transformers to replace electromagnetic transformers for the electric grid, rail traction, large-vehicle power systems, and wind turbines.

REFERENCES:

1. S.-H. Ryu; L. Cheng; S. Dhar, C. Capell, C. Jonas, R. Callanan, A. Agarwal, J. Palmour, A. Lelis, C. Scozzie, B. Geil, "3.7 mO-cm2, 1500 V 4H-SiC DMOSFETs for Advanced High Power, High Frequency Applications," in 2011 IEEE 23rd International Symposium

2. R.A. Wood and T.E. Salem, "Evaluation of a 1200-V, 800-A All-SiC Dual Module," IEEE Transaction on Power Electronics, Vol. 26, pp. 2504-2511, 2011.

3. L. Chenga, S.-H. Ryu, C. Jonas, S. Dhar, R. Callanan, J. Richmond, A.K. Agarwal, and J. Palmour, "3300 V, 30 A 4H-SiC Power DMOSFETs," in 2009 International Semiconductor Device Research Symposium, ISDRS 2009, pp. 1-2.

4. D. Grider, M. Das, A. Agarwal, J. Palmour, S. Leslie, J. Ostop, R. Raju, M. Schutten, A. Hefner, "10 kV/120 A SiC DMOSFET Half H-Bridge Power Modules for 1 MVA Solid State Power Substation," In 2011 IEEE Electric Ship Technology Symposium, pp. 131-134.

5. A. Agarwal, H. Fatima, S. Haney, and S.H. Ryu, "A New Degradation Mechanism in High-Voltage SiC Power MOSFETs," IEEE Electron Device Letters, Vol. 28, pp. 587-589, 2007.

6. A. Agarwal, R. Callanan, M. Das, B. Hull, J. Richmond, S. -H. Ryu, and J. Palmour, "Advanced HF SiC MOS devices," In 13th European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications, 2009. EPE '09, pp. 1-10.

7. M.K. Das, C. Capell, D.E. Grider, R. Raju, "10 kV, 120 A SiC half H-bridge power MOSFET modules suitable for high frequency, medium voltage applications," Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE), 2011, pp. 2689-2692.

8. C. DiMarino, I. Cvetkovic, S. Zhiyu, R. Burgos, "10 kV, 120 a SiC MOSFET modules for a power electronics building block (PEBB)," 2014 IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA), 2014, pp. 55-58.

9. J. Schuderer, U. Vemulapati, F. Traub, "Packaging SiC power semiconductors — Challenges, technologies and strategies," 2014 IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Application, 2014, pp. 18-23.

10. J.W. Palmour, L. Cheng, V. Pala, E.V. Brunt, D.J. Lichtenwalner, G.Y. Wang, J. Richmond, M. O’Loughlin, S. Ryu, S.T. Allen, A.A. Burk, and C. Scozzie, "Silicon carbide power MOSFETs: Breakthrough performance from 900 V up to 15 kV," 2014 IEEE 26th International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices & IC's (ISPSD), 2014, 79-82.

11. M. Imaizumi and N. Miura, "Characteristics of 600, 1200, and 3300 V Planar SiC-MOSFETs for Energy Conversion Applications," IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices Volume: 62, Issue: 2, 2015, pp. 390-395.

KEYWORDS: Silicon Carbide, Power Electronics, Wide Bandgap Semiconductor, Power Module, Medium Voltage, Power MOSFET

TPOC-1: Lynn Petersen

Email: lynn.j.petersen@navy.mil

TPOC-2: Fritz Kub

Email: kub@nrl.navy.mil

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