New Insights on Output Capacitance Losses in Wide-Band-Gap Transistors

Abstract

The low on-resistance of wide-band-gap (WBG) transistors is a key feature for efficient power converters; however, the anomalous loss in their output capacitance (COSS) severely limits their performance at high switching frequencies. Characterizing COSS losses based on the large-signal measurement methods requires an extensive effort, as separate measurements are needed at different operation points, including voltage swing, frequency, and dv/dt. Furthermore, there is a practical tradeoff in the maximum voltage and frequency applied to the device. Here, we introduce a new circuit model, including an effective COSS and a frequency-dependent series resistance, along with a simple small-signal method to fully characterize COSS losses in WBG transistors. The method accurately predicts COSS losses at any voltage swing or frequency. Contrary to other methods, this technique directly leads to a general identification of COSS losses at different operation points, revealing new insights on COSS losses in WBG transistors, especially the dependence of EDISS on voltage and frequency. Based on the proposed approach, the issue of COSS losses in enhancement-mode GaN and SiC transistors was assigned to the limited quality factor of COSS. The precise characterization of COSS losses proposed in this letter is essential for designing efficient high-frequency power converters.