Dynamic Switching Energy Monitoring during Gate Switching Stress to Evaluate Performance Degradation in Hard Switching Electric Power Conversion Systems

Abstract:

In addition to the well-known bias temperature instability (BTI) phenomena, recently, it has been revealed that SiC MOSFETs show another instability during high-frequency repetitive switching between VGS(L) and VGS(H), referred to as gate-switching instability (GSI). This study shows the increase in switching energy caused by gate-switching instability VGS(th) drift as key performance parameters in electric power conversion systems, especially, when operating in hard-switching mode. A new methodology based on double pulse test was applied at each readout. The results highlighted the significance of the degradation mechanism through its impact on hard-switching applications with high-switching frequency. Therefore ruggedness against GSI plays a pivotal role in the long-term reliable operation of SiC MOSFET devices to ensure durable and efficient power conversion systems.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volume 1024)
• Pages: 3-7
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-M3e3xl
• Online since: September 2025
• Authors: Andrea Piccioni*, Maximilian Wolfgang Feil, Thomas Aichinger
• Keywords: Bias Temperature Instability (BTI), Degradation, Drift, Gate Switching Instability (GSI), Gate Switching Stress (GSS), On-State Resistance, Power Converter Application, Switching Energy, Threshold Voltage

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