Short-Circuit Ruggedness Characterization of State-of-the-Art 3.3 kV SiC MOSFETs

This paper presents the short-circuit evaluation of state-of-the-art 3.3kV silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) from Wolfspeed, encompassing discrete devices rated at $40\mathrm{~A}$ and power modules rated at $800\mathrm{~A}$. The SiC MOSFET degradation under repetitive short-circuit tests is evaluated by comparing initial and 250-cycle interval censored static parameters (up to 1,000 cycles). The threshold voltage and on-state resistance variations can be observed. Destructive tests on discrete devices and power modules reveal a maximum short circuit withstand time of $3\mu\mathrm{s}$ at 2 kV.