A Behavior Model of SiC DMOSFET Considering Thermal-Runaway Failures in Short-Circuit and Avalanche Breakdown Faults

Accurate fault simulation and failure prediction have long been challenges for SiC MOSFETs users. This paper presents a behavior model of Silicon Carbide (SiC) double-implanted MOSFET (DMOSFET), considering thermal-runaway failures in short-circuit and avalanche breakdown faults on the basis of cell-level physical processes. The proposed model can simulate the faults with extremely high accuracy and precisely predict SiC DMOSFET’s short-circuit withstand time and critical avalanche energy. By finite-element simulations, cell-level physical processes of short-circuit and avalanche breakdown faults are clarified. The mechanisms of thermal-runaway failures are deeply discussed with references to existing studies. Based on semiconductor and device physics mechanisms, the proposed model is constructed upon a traditional behavior model of SiC MOSFET with several parallel branches that are proposed to describe the thermal-runaway failures during both faults. The Cauer thermal network model is used for estimating junction temperature within it. The proposed model is constructed in Simulink, and it is validated using short-circuit and unclamped inductive switching (UIS) tests.