Hard Switching Characteristics of SiC and GaN Devices for Future Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

¹ High Impact Research Lab, School of Engineering, Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, 47500
² Department of Electrical Technology, Universiti Kuala Lumpur British Malaysian Institute, Gombak Selangor, Malaysia, 50250
³ Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Nottingham, A61a, Coates Building, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD

^* Corresponding author: aravindcv@ieee.org

Abstract

Wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors offer better switching and lower losses, and it is not uncommon to utilize them for high power density, high-efficiency applications. Gallium nitride (GaN) and Silicon carbide (SiC) are the most common WBG materials that are responsible for major switching level changes relative to silicon (Si) devices. This paper explores the contrast of performance between Si, SiC, and GaN devices. The output performance of Si, SiC, and GaN power devices includes efficiency, energy bandgap, thermal conductivity, carrier mobility, saturation speed, power density, switching characteristics, and conduction losses. This article also proposes a Vienna rectifier with GaN materials, which operates as a front-end rectifier on a high-density battery charger targeted at high-performance applications such as electric vehicle charging stations, aircraft applications, and welding power sources. The system would reduce the total harmonics distortion (THD) to less than 5%, and the power factor would be increased to unity to satisfy the IEEE-519 standard.