Introduction of SiC MOSFETs in converters based on Si IGBTs

Silicon Carbide (SiC) Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) have the potential to increase the power density in power electronics converters compared to the currently used silicon (Si). Their benefits are higher efficiency, higher switching speeds, and higher operating temperatures. Moreover, SiC MOSFETs, which are normally-off, offer the possibility to directly replace Si Isolated-Gate-Bipolar-Transistors (IGBTs) in already existing converter designs with minimal circuit changes. Nevertheless, as an emerging technology, the reliability performance remains to be investigated. A reliability analysis has been performed based on a full-bridge resonant converter rated at 60 kW for modern Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) power supplies. This analysis shows that introducing SiC devices will increase the lifetime of the converter while reducing the losses. The investment costs of replacing the Si IGBTs with SiC MOSFETs can thus be covered with the reduction of the losses over the economical operational lifetime. Furthermore, a theoretical analysis on how introducing SiC MOSFETs could increase the power density of the converter while maintaining the efficiency and the reliability. Finally, an analysis on introducing redundancy as a way to improve the reliability of the system has been performed.