Investigation of Full SiC Power Modules for More Electric Aircraft With Focus on FIT Rate and High-Frequency Switching

The development of more electric aircraft (MEA) has accelerated in recent years. Power converter systems for MEA require higher reliability compared with the conventional power converter systems as well as higher energy efficiency. A power device at high altitude might break down at a certain rate because of cosmic rays. Thus, it is necessary to carefully consider the reliability of single event burnout together with the converter design. This study examines a failure in time (FIT) rate comparison among three different inverter configurations using 3.3-kV and 6.5-kV full SiC power modules (FSPMs) under several operating conditions. It presents module and inverter configuration selection criteria in consideration of the FIT rate. In addition, the transitions of FIT rates during the flight are calculated using actual flight data to help the power converter system designers understand how the FIT rate should be considered. Furthermore, this study verifies a high-frequency switching operation at various bus voltages for a 6.5-kV FSPM and the power loss calculation for MEA applications.