Characteristics of SiC MOSFET Compact Models Suitable for Virtual Prototyping of Power Electronic Circuits

Compact models of SiC MOSFETs for circuit simulation have evolved significantly in recent years in terms of accuracy, computation speed and convergence robustness. Circuit designers benefit from models that they can use in computer simulation to understand, troubleshoot and optimize the static and dynamic device behavior of applications through virtual prototyping. Among the various compact models available there can be significant differences in structure, complexity, and considered device properties that can impact their usefulness in virtual prototyping. SiC MOSFETs have certain unique behavioral aspects due to their particular device structure and material characteristics that must be considered for its compact model it to be effective. This paper discusses several key characteristics of SiC MOSFETs that are also essential for their compact models such as short-channel effects, body diode recovery and snappiness, dead time dependency, and threshold voltage hysteresis.