Gate Driver for 10 kV SiC MOSFET Power Module with High-Speed Current Sensing

A compact gate driver is proposed for a 10 kV half-bridge SiC MOSFET power module. The gate drivers for the low-side and high-side devices are integrated into the busbar PCB which mates directly to the power module, yielding a streamlined design with a footprint of 200 x 167 mm
²
. High-speed short circuit protection is implemented by means of a parasitic sense technique which integrates the voltage induced across the parasitic inductance of the power source to form a high-frequency current sensor. PCB-embedded field grading techniques are used to improve the insulation performance of the PCB traces and reduce undesired stray inductance in the integrator. The gate driver and current sensor are experimentally verified in a double-pulse clamped inductive load switching test where a maximum dV/dt of 143 V/ns was achieved. The current sensor demonstrated linearity over the operating current range of the module.