Research on SiC MOSFET Short-Circuit Protection Based on Gate and Drain Voltage Detection
Wan Xinchun1,2, Chen Qigong1,2, Yang Jintao1,2, Wu Yifei1,2
1. Key Laboratory of Advanced Perception and Intelligent Control of High-End Equipment Ministry of Education Anhui Polytechnic University Wuhu 241000 China; 2. School of Electrical Engineering Anhui Polytechnic University Wuhu 241000 China
Abstract：SiC MOSFETs are extensively used in various power electronic conversion equipment. A fast, accurate, and reliable short-circuit protection circuit has become one of the key technologies for its popularization and application. When a short circuit occurs in the SiC MOSFET, the short-circuit protection circuit must achieve rapid detection and judgment, filter out interference signals, and drive the SiC MOSFET to turn off reliably. Additionally, this circuit should possess characteristics such as low loss and minimal impact on the main circuit. In this paper, diverse short-circuit processes of SiC MOSFETs are analyzed. Considering the rapid increase advantage in drain-source voltage during device short-circuiting, the short-circuit protection circuit’s topology and functionality are designed with gate and drain voltage detection of the SiC MOSFET for decision-making. Subsequently, the signal is analyzed, latched, isolated, and filtered. If a device experiences a short circuit fault, the corresponding signal triggers output to activate gate driver chips for effective device protection. The short-circuit protection circuit possesses sufficient speed, accuracy, and reliability. Accordingly, a short-circuit protection circuit for SiC MOSFETs is designed using logic and high-speed components. The response time of the circuit under different short circuits is calculated, including detection delay, filtering delay, processing time, and propagation delay. The proposed short-circuit protection circuit allows for appropriate adjustment of filtering time to different operating conditions, which has good anti-interference performance. The double-pulse test platform for SiC MOSFET is constructed to evaluate the short-circuit protection performance under different bus voltages, short-circuit types, driving capacities, and gate driver conditions. The experimental results agree with theoretical analysis and design requirements, confirming that the proposed circuit is superior to the classic desaturation fault protection (DESAT) circuit. Theoretical analysis and experimental results demonstrate that the short-circuit protection circuit designed for different short-circuit faults exhibits a short protection time compared to the device's short-circuit tolerance time. Fast, precise, and reliable short-circuit protection can be achieved within 600 ns for hard switch faults. Selecting a grid driver chip with reduced delay can further reduce the short-circuit protection time to within 500 ns. In case of a fault under load, the short circuit protection time of SiC MOSFET can be minimized to less than 200 ns. The gate driver capability primarily affects its protection time, while the bus voltage has minimal effects. The greater the gate drive capability, the shorter the short circuit protection time. The proposed circuit exhibits a simple structure, low cost, high speed, high precision, and high reliability. It provides a viable solution for addressing the short-circuit fault in SiC MOSFET under various operating conditions and enhances the safety and reliability of SiC MOSFET equipment.
宛新春, 陈其工, 杨锦涛, 武逸飞. 基于栅极和漏极电压检测的SiC MOSFET短路保护电路研究[J]. 电工技术学报, 2025, 40(4): 1145-1155.
Wan Xinchun, Chen Qigong, Yang Jintao, Wu Yifei. Research on SiC MOSFET Short-Circuit Protection Based on Gate and Drain Voltage Detection. Transactions of China Electrotechnical Society, 2025, 40(4): 1145-1155.
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2025, Vol. 40 
