Impact of Cu Clip and Wire-Bonded Packaging on the Surge Current Capability of SiC MOSFETs in the Third Quadrant

The surge capability of SiC MOSFET in the third quadrant can be influenced by the packaging type. This paper compares the third-quadrant single-pulse surge capabilities of SiC MOSFET with large current ratings through experiments, using two different packaging methods: Cu clips and bonding wires. These comparisons will be performed with gate bias voltages of 15 V and -10 V, and pulse durations of 10 ms and 1 ms. It was found that Cu clip packaging does not provide the same level of surge capability for the chip as wire-bonded packaging in the majority of cases. Furthermore, an electro-thermal coupled finite element model was established to investigate the temperature and current distribution of the chip during surge condition, elucidating the influence of different packaging configurations on the chip's surge performance.