Simulating Switching of Power Electronic Devices via Generic State-Space Models

This paper proposes a generic state-space model for a generic power electronic switching cell. It determines the rate-of-change of all state variables within the switching cell, i.e. energy storing voltages and currents, as an explicit function of state variables and external voltage and current sources. Numeric integration of the model achieves the physics-based simulation of the turn-on and -off transients. The model neither uses separate state-space models for various stages of turn-on and -off transitions nor uses implicit formulations to avoid time-consuming iterative solving as well as convergence issues. Instead, the model features a low complexity and an explicit formulation thus enabling a fast numeric simulation. Furthermore, it enables flexible device and package optimizations: A wide range of devices models and switching cell parasitics can be effectively combined to explore their interaction and evaluate a wide range of design options. The accuracy of the modeling approach is evaluated for an examplary SiC MOSFET in a comparison with LTspice simulations and double-pulse experiments.