Design and development of a gate driver for testing systems of SiC modules

The rushing demand for higher performances in electronics is constantly pressing the market. Nowadays the technology at our disposal has reached high levels of improvement and complexity and day by day new solutions are found. For decades, silicon devices have dominated the power electronics market thanks to their breakthroughs in material quality, improvement of the fabrication techniques and processes, and in the architecture of the devices. By now, unfortunately, silicon exploitation is reaching a limit and for power application this material has saturated its capabilities, having no chances to tackle the new technologies based on wide bandgap material, as an example silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), which development is mainly linked to the increased demand of renewable energy, electrification of the powertrain in the automotive systems and the growing demand for miniaturization of dimensions and increased device efficiency in power management applications. This dissertation is focused on the design and realization of a gate driver to test silicon carbide MOSFETs devices and modules for application such as high power inverters, that allow to reach higher switching frequencies and reliability compared to the previous silicon IGBTs, with the aim of implement such a solution in a testing platform, where SiC modules and devices are contacted through needles and tested. After a brief preface to introduce the novelties and advantages that silicon carbide can offer, the design of a gate driver for a SiC half bridge is be presented. The prototype realized on a PCB has been tested and the results are discussed and commented, analyzing the pros and cons of this technology and the fundamental aspects to keep in mind when dealing with silicon carbide design. This project is the result of collaboration with the Loccioni Group, an Italian company specialized in energy technologies, environment, industry, train & transports, mobility and humancare, always in step with the times with particular attention to the electrification, a growing industry field of the last decade where new applications and technologies such as silicon carbide are emerging.