Design and Testing of a 6.5 kV Submodule Based on a 10 kV SiC Power Module

This paper presents a half-bridge submodule design based on a 10 kV SiC MOSFET XHV-9 power module. The design of the gate driver, isolated power supply, and busbar are presented. High voltage insulation capability, fast short circuit protection, and resilience to EMI of the designed submodule are demonstrated through continuous power tests at 6.5 kV, 57 A and through a short circuit test. This submodule verification facilitates the adoption of high-voltage SiC MOSFETs in medium-voltage (MV) converters, shedding light on highly efficient power conditioning systems (PCS) for grid applications.