Wide-Bandgap Device Application: Devices, Circuits, and Drivers

A special issue of Electronics (ISSN 2079-9292). This special issue belongs to the section "Semiconductor Devices".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 October 2024 | Viewed by 3251

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China
Interests: gate driver design for SiC MOSFET; high temperature integrated circuits based on SiC

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China
Interests: power integrated circuit; wide bandgap power semiconductor devices and integration; power electronics

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China
Interests: SiC material-related devices and circuits

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

(1) As SiC and GaN devices are increasingly being applied in power electronics, the excellent performance of these devices is required. Therefore, how to design the devices, how to drive them, and what other fields these devices can be applied in are attractive research issues.

(2) This Special Issue aims to exhibit the research progress of the application of wide-bandgap semiconductor devices, including the novel structures of devices, new topology of circuits for the high performance of wide-bandgap devices, and integrated circuit application of wide-bandgap semiconductors.

(3) In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following: high-efficiency SiC MOSFET-based DC/DC converters for EV application, high-voltage SiC-based DC/DC converters for HVDC application, SiC-based AC/DC for EV charging station application, high-power density power converters based on GaN devices, integrated circuits based on SiC material for harsh environment application, and integrated circuits based on GaN material for high-frequency application.

Prof. Dr. Yimeng Zhang
Dr. Lejia Sun
Prof. Dr. Yuming Zhang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • wide-bandgap semiconductor devices
  • SiC
  • GaN
  • power converters
  • wide-bandgap semiconductor integrated circuits

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 7222 KiB  
Article
Highly Reliable Short-Circuit Protection Circuits for Gallium Nitride High-Electron-Mobility Transistors
by Chul-Min Kim, Hyun-Soo Yoon, Jong-Soo Kim and Nam-Joon Kim
Electronics 2024, 13(7), 1203; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/electronics13071203 - 25 Mar 2024
Viewed by 432
Abstract
This paper presents a circuit for detecting and protecting against short circuits in E-mode gallium nitride high-electron-mobility transistors (GaN HEMTs) and analyzes the protection performance of the circuit. GaN HEMTs possess fast switching characteristics that enable high efficiency and power density in power [...] Read more.
This paper presents a circuit for detecting and protecting against short circuits in E-mode gallium nitride high-electron-mobility transistors (GaN HEMTs) and analyzes the protection performance of the circuit. GaN HEMTs possess fast switching characteristics that enable high efficiency and power density in power conversion devices. However, these characteristics also pose challenges in protecting against short circuits and overcurrent situations. The proposed method detects short-circuit events by monitoring an instantaneous drop in the DC bus voltage of a circuit with GaN HEMTs applied and uses a bandpass filter to prevent the malfunction of the short-circuit protection circuit during normal switching and ensure highly reliable operation. Using this method, the short-circuit detection time of E-mode GaN HEMTs can be reduced to 257 ns, successfully protecting the device without malfunctions even in severe short-circuit situations occurring at high DC link voltages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wide-Bandgap Device Application: Devices, Circuits, and Drivers)
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9 pages, 4419 KiB  
Communication
Design of a 1.2 kV SiC MOSFET with Buried Oxide for Improving Switching Characteristics
by Hyowon Yoon and Ogyun Seok
Electronics 2024, 13(5), 962; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/electronics13050962 - 01 Mar 2024
Viewed by 558
Abstract
The 1.2 kV SiC MOSFET with a buried oxide was verified to be effective in improving switching characteristics. It is crucial to reduce the gate–drain charge (QGD) of devices to minimize switching loss (Etotal). The SiC MOSFET with a [...] Read more.
The 1.2 kV SiC MOSFET with a buried oxide was verified to be effective in improving switching characteristics. It is crucial to reduce the gate–drain charge (QGD) of devices to minimize switching loss (Etotal). The SiC MOSFET with a split gate and device with a buffered oxide have been proposed by previous studies to reduce the QGD of the devices. However, both devices have a common issue of the concentration of the electric field at the gate oxide. In this paper, we propose the 1.2 kV SiC MOSFET with a buried oxide to reduce the QGD and suppress the electric field crowding effect at the gate oxide. We analyzed the specific on-resistance (Ron,sp), QGD and the maximum electric field at the gate oxide in the off state (Eox,max) according to the width (WBO) and thickness of the buried oxides (TBO). The device with the buried oxide, under optimal conditions, showed lower Eox,max and Etotal without significant increase in Ron,sp in comparison to the device with a conventional structure. These results indicate that the buried oxide can improve the switching characteristics of 1.2 kV SiC MOSFETs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wide-Bandgap Device Application: Devices, Circuits, and Drivers)
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20 pages, 1406 KiB  
Article
A Magnetic Integration Mismatch Suppression Strategy for Parallel SiC Power Devices Applications
by Shikai Sun, Jialin Liu, Lei Chen, Zhenlin Lu, Yuan Wang, Wenhao Yang, Yuyin Sun and Hui Guo
Electronics 2024, 13(5), 954; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/electronics13050954 - 01 Mar 2024
Viewed by 572
Abstract
A new magnetic integrated parallel current sharing control method for parallel silicon carbide (SiC) power devices is presented in this article. The problem of the application of parallel connected SiC power devices is analyzed. The coupled inductance method is adopted to solve the [...] Read more.
A new magnetic integrated parallel current sharing control method for parallel silicon carbide (SiC) power devices is presented in this article. The problem of the application of parallel connected SiC power devices is analyzed. The coupled inductance method is adopted to solve the problem. Based on the active-back converter, we establish the theoretical model of the coupled inductance, and figure out its working mechanism. The integrated magnetic device is designed based on the working mechanism, and the effectiveness is determined through simulation. A 12 V/10 A output magnetic integrated active-flyback converter prototype is fabricated and tested to verify the strategy. Measurement results show that, with the proposed magnetic integrated method, the mismatch voltage is suppressed to 0.1 V under all load conditions, and the efficiency increases by at most 6.52% under full load conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wide-Bandgap Device Application: Devices, Circuits, and Drivers)
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14 pages, 2827 KiB  
Article
A Hierarchical Driving Control Strategy Applied to Parallel SiC MOSFETs
by Yin Luo, Xiaoyan Tang, Shikai Sun, Jialin Liu, Wenhao Yang and Yuyin Sun
Electronics 2024, 13(1), 70; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/electronics13010070 - 22 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 526
Abstract
SiC (silicon carbide) MOSFETs have been extensively used in the power electronics industry due to their exceptional characteristics. First, it was found in this study that their driving loss is larger than their conduction loss in high-frequency applications. Based on this finding, this [...] Read more.
SiC (silicon carbide) MOSFETs have been extensively used in the power electronics industry due to their exceptional characteristics. First, it was found in this study that their driving loss is larger than their conduction loss in high-frequency applications. Based on this finding, this study proposes a hierarchical driving control strategy for improving the parallel-converter efficiency of SiC MOSFETs under light loads. Efficiency under light loads is of great importance for battery-based energy storage systems. To minimize the sum of the conduction loss and driving loss in parallel devices, this study proposes a current-monitoring hierarchical driving strategy based on an active-clamped flyback converter. By monitoring the output current of the converter, the strategy minimizes the sum of the driving and conduction losses by switching the driving state under different loads. The results of simulations indicate the effectiveness of the load-current-monitoring strategy. To verify the effectiveness of this method, a principle prototype of two SiC MOSFETs connected in parallel at 12 V/5 A was fabricated and tested, and the test results showed that there was a maximum improvement of 1.4% in the converter’s efficiency when the load current was in the range of 0.5–1.5 A. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wide-Bandgap Device Application: Devices, Circuits, and Drivers)
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14 pages, 4538 KiB  
Article
Design of High-Performance Driving Power Supply for Semiconductor Laser
by Bin Feng, Junfeng Zhao, Haofei Zhang, Tao Li and Jianjun Mi
Electronics 2023, 12(23), 4758; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/electronics12234758 - 23 Nov 2023
Viewed by 829
Abstract
High power semiconductor laser is a kind of photoelectric device with high efficiency and high stability, the performance of its drive system directly affects its output characteristics and service life. In order to solve the problems of stability and robustness of the output [...] Read more.
High power semiconductor laser is a kind of photoelectric device with high efficiency and high stability, the performance of its drive system directly affects its output characteristics and service life. In order to solve the problems of stability and robustness of the output power of the semiconductor laser, a semiconductor laser driving power supply with high efficiency, low ripple and strong anti-interference ability was developed. In this paper, the topology of the LCC resonant converter is adopted (LCC refers to the type of resonant converter, because its resonator is composed of an inductor L and two capacitors C, it is called LCC resonant converter). The power supply adopts full-bridge LCC resonant power topology. Firstly, a mathematical model is established to analyze the relationship between LCC resonator parameters and output current gain. Secondly, an LCC resonator parameter design method is proposed to reduce the current stress of components, and the variable frequency phase shift (PFM-PWM) composite control strategy and linear active disturbance rejection control (LADRC) algorithm are proposed, which not only ensures the zero voltage (ZVS) conduction of MOS (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) tube, but also reduces the on-off loss of MOS tube. The PFM-PWM composite control strategy and LADRC algorithm not only improve the power efficiency of the drive power supply, suppress the output current ripple, but also ensure that the output current of the drive power supply is stable when the input voltage, load and parasitic parameters of the circuit change. Finally, the simulation and experimental results show that the power supply can be continuously adjustable in the output current range of 0–40 A, the current ripple is less than 0.8%, and the working efficiency is up to 92%. It has the characteristics of high stability, small ripple, high efficiency, low cost and good robustness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wide-Bandgap Device Application: Devices, Circuits, and Drivers)
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