Silicon-carbide (SiC) MOSFET-based full-bridge for pulsed power applications

Abstract

Eagle Harbor Technologies (EHT), Inc. is developing a high power full-bridge based on silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). SiC MOSFETs offer many advantages over IGBTs including lower drive energy requirements, lower conduction and switching losses, and higher switching frequency capabilities. When comparing SiC and traditional silicon-based MOSFETs, SiC MOSFETs provide higher current carrying capability allowing for smaller package weights and sizes and lower operating temperature. EHT has demonstrated that the full-bridge can drive resistive loads at 800 V, 4.25 kA at pulse repetition frequencies up to 1 MHz. The full-bridge has also been used to drive resonant tank circuits and driving currents up to 2.8 kA at 100 kHz. The SiC MOSFET full bridge has applications for RF plasma heating; inductive and arc plasma sources; magnetron driving; and generation of arbitrary pulses at high voltage, high current, and high pulse repetition frequency.