Short Circuit Requirements of Power Converters based upon Wide-Bandgap Semiconductors

In power electronics designs, the evaluation and prediction of potential fault conditions on semiconductors is essential for achieving safe operation and reliability, being short circuit (SC) one of the most probable and destructive failures. Recent improvements on Wide-Bandgap (WBG) semiconductors such as Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium nitrite (GaN) enable power electronic designs with outstanding performance, reshaping the power electronics landscape. In comparison to Silicon (Si), SiC and GaN power semiconductors physically present smaller chip areas, higher maximum internal electric fields, and higher current densities. Such characteristics yield a much faster rise of the devices’ internal temperatures, worsening their SC performance. In this way, this dissertation consists of a comprehensive investigation about SC on SiC MOSFETs, GaN HEMT, and GaN E-HEMT transistors, as well as contextualizing their particularities on SC performance by comparison with that of Si IBGTs. Moreover, an investigation towards how to prevent SC occurrences besides a review of available SC protection methods is presented.