A Compact 175°C High Temperature Gate Driver with Isolated Power Supply and Advanced Protection for HybridPACK Drive SiC Module

The operation of silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor devices under high ambient temperature requires high temperature gate drivers adjacent to the devices. This paper presents a three-phase isolated gate driver circuit suitable for HybridPACK Drive (HP Drive) power modules with operating ambient temperature up to 175°C. First, an overall introduction of the gate driver structure and layout design method for reducing thermal coupling are presented. Second, detailed designs are presented in the form of sub-circuits such as desaturation protection circuit, isolated power supply, active Miller clamp, undervoltage lockout and so on. Finally, the proposed gate driver design is validated through double pulse test, continuous full-load operation under 145°C and continuous light-load test under 175°C. Comprehensive performance evaluation of proposed high temperature gate driver is presented.