A 50-kW High-Frequency and High-Efficiency SiC Voltage Source Inverter for More Electric Aircraft

High power density is required for power converter in more electric aircraft due to the strict demands of volume and weight, which makes silicon carbide (SiC) extremely attractive for this application. In this paper, a prototype of 50-kW SiC two-level three-phase voltage source inverter is demonstrated with a gravimetric power density of 26 kW/kg (without inclusion of filter). A gate assisted circuit is introduced to reduce the switching loss. In addition, the ringings of voltage and current due to parasitic parameters during the switching transition can also be mitigated. A mathematical model with consideration of various parasitic parameters is developed, which illustrates the parasitic effects in high-speed switching SiC power module. The converter is operated at a switching frequency up to 100 kHz and a narrow dead band of 250 ns. The measured efficiency is 97.91%.