Materials Science Forum Submitted: 2015-10-19

ISSN: 1662-9752, Vol. 858, pp 894-899 Revised: 2015-12-04

doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.858.894 Accepted: 2016-01-04
© 2016 Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland Online: 2016-05-24

Readiness of SiC MOSFETs for Aerospace and Industrial Applications

Ljubisa Stevanovic1,a*, Peter Losee1,b, Stacey Kennerly1,c, Alexander Bolotnikov1,d,
Brian Rowden1,e, Joe Smolenski1,f, Maja Harfman-Todorovic1,g, Rajib Datta1,h,
Stephen Arthur1,i, David Lilienfeld1,j, Tobias Schuetz1,k, Fabio Carastro1,l,
Fengfeng Tao1,m, David Esler1,n, Ravi Raju1,o, Greg Dunne1,p, Philip Cioffi1,q,
Liangchun Yu1,r
1
GE Global Research, One Research Circle, Niskayuna, NY 12039, USA
a* b c d
stevanov@ge.com, losee@ge.com, stacey.kennerly@ge.com, bolotnik@ge.com,
e f g h
rowden@ge.com, smolenski@ge.com, harfmanm@ge.com, rajib.datta@ge.com,
i
arthurs@ge.com, lilienfe@ge.com, schuetz@ge.com, fabio.carastro@ge.com, mtao@ge.com,
j k l
n o p q r
esler@ge.com, raju@ge.com, dunne@research.ge.com, cioffi@ge.com, yuliang@ge.com

Keywords: SiC MOSFET, Reliability, Ruggedness, Efficiency, Aerospace, Industrial, Applications

Abstract. This paper highlights ongoing efforts to validate performance, reliability and robustness
of GE SiC MOSFETs for Aerospace and Industrial applications. After summarizing ruggedness and
reliability testing performed on 1.2kV MOSFETs, two application examples are highlighted. The
first demonstrates the 1.2kV device performance in a prototype high frequency 75kW Aviation
motor drive. The second highlights the experimental demonstration of a 99% efficient 1.0MW solar
inverter using 1.7kV MOSFET modules in a two-level topology switching at 8kHz. Both
applications illustrate that SiC advantage is not only in improved performance, but also in
significant system cost savings through simplifications in topology, controls, cooling and filtering.

I. Introduction
Silicon Carbide (SiC) power devices can operate at higher temperatures, higher voltages and
higher switching frequencies compared to existing silicon devices, resulting in greater power
converter efficiency, smaller size and improved bandwidth. Over the past decade, the SiC efforts at
GE have centered on development, maturation and system validation of 1.2kV to 3.3kV MOSFETs
for Aerospace and Industrial applications [1-7]. The primary focus has been on meeting system
requirements for high temperature, reliability and ruggedness. This paper summarizes the current
status of GE SiC MOSFET technology and assesses its readiness for those applications.
Section II of the paper summarizes the results of extensive internal and third-party testing of
discrete 1.2kV GE SiC MOSFETs where they show projected reliability comparable to mature
silicon power devices. In addition, extensive stress testing was performed to evaluate the device’s
avalanche capability, short circuit ruggedness, body diode stability, and terrestrial cosmic radiation
hardness. Section III highlights the device’s system-level performance and impact on a 75kW motor
drive for Aerospace applications. Section IV describes an experimental demonstration of a 1.0MW
SiC PV inverter with best-in-class system efficiency of 99%. Section V highlights manufacturing
scale-up activities in partnership with New York Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium
(NY-PEMC) [8], which is focused on setting-up a 150mm wafer fab. The fab is expected to
significantly reduce the device cost - the remaining roadblock to a widespread SiC adoption in high
volume applications. The section also emphasizes that it’s possible to unlock significant savings in
other components/subsystems and achieve overall system savings even when SiC devices cost much
more than Si. Section VI summarizes the results and next steps.

II. Reliability and Ruggedness

The adoption of SiC in Aerospace and Industrial applications requires extensive validation of
device’s reliability and ruggedness. The 1.2kV GE MOSFETs were the first in the industry to

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 Materials Science Forum Vol. 858 895

demonstrate stable operation at high temperatures and the TO247-packaged 30A part (10mm2 chip
size) became the first power device to be qualified at 200oC in accordance with the automotive
AEC-Q101 reliability standard [3]. The 30A MOSFETs, both on-wafer and in discrete packages,
have been subjected to extensive and on-going accelerated stress testing. Weibull plots in Fig 1
depict accelerated high temperature gate bias (HTGB) testing (also known as time dependent
dielectric breakdown – or TDDB) of full 10mm2 MOSFETs. It is clear from the figure that the
majority (>99%) of these devices exhibits intrinsic wearout behavior. From each Weibull plot a
63% MTTF (mean time to failure) datapoint can be obtained and a corresponding accelerated
TDDB lifetime model can be derived by curve-fitting the datapoints as shown in Fig.2. The model
predicts that the gate oxide lifetime at use conditions is far beyond 100 years (1E6 hours).

Fig 1. Accelerated HTGB (TDDB) testing of Fig 2. TDDB lifetime model vs. E-field and
10mm2 SiC MOSFETs temperature for 10mm2 SiC MOSFETs
In addition, the discrete parts have been subjected to third-party reliability testing with the
feedback that “SiC MOSFETs show comparable behavior to Si MOSFETs”. The corresponding
experimental TDDB datapoints are shown in Fig.2 (black diamonds), illustrating good agreement
between GE and third-party gate oxide reliability results. If one applies this experimentally derived
acceleration factor to an extrinsic population of MOSFETs, the gate oxide failure rate of less than
10 FIT (failures per 109 device-hours) can be projected at the following use-conditions: Tj=150oC,
Vgs=20V (Fig 3). Such low FIT rates are typical for mature Si products. The significance of the
aforementioned discussion should not be underestimated, as it directly contradicts the long standing
perception that SiC MOSFETs cannot be as reliable as Si.

These devices have also been optimized

to handle avalanche and surge conditions [3]
and stability of MOSFET’s body diode for
synchronous rectifier applications has been
validated during 13,000 hours of continuous
switching at 200kHz [4]. More recently, the
device’s tolerance to terrestrial cosmic
radiation (TCR) has been quantified and
voltage de-rating guidelines have been
established [5]. As part of the qualification
testing, the TO-247 packaged parts
successfully passed 1,000 thermal cycles Fig 3. Projected gate oxide failure rate versus time
from -55oC to 200oC [3]. Table 1 below for 10mm2 SiC MOSFETs at Tj=150oC, Vgs=20V use
shows a summary of performance, conditions based on acceleration model from Fig. 2.
ruggedness and reliability testing performed on the discrete 1.2kV SiC MOSFETs.
896 Silicon Carbide and Related Materials 2015

Table.1: Summary of performance, ruggedness and reliability testing of discrete 1.2kV SiC MOSFETs
Performance Key Attributes Application Impact

System Efficiency >98% Less heat to manage; saves energy

Operates with less/no cooling (air vs. liquid);

TJUNCTION-MAX 200oC
increases power density; improves MTBF.

RGATE-INTERNAL 2Ω Improves sw. speed & losses, power density

Stable; low ERR; good for Eliminates need for a-parallel diodes; module
Body diode
sync_rec with: tDEAD<1µs has extra floor space
higher current rating

Ruggedness Test Status

DC link voltage vs. short Determined required response time of short
Short Circuit
circuit withstand time circuit protection

Extremely rugged, EAV/cm2 is approximately 5

Avalanche Single pulse vs. temperature
times better than competing silicon devices

Terrestrial Cosmic Established voltage de-rating requirements (at

DC link voltage vs. FIT rate
Radiation sea level, room temperature)

Reliability Test Status

Temperature Cycling Pass Test conditions: -55oC to 200oC, 1000 cycles

HTGB Pass Test conditions: VGS-MAX =23V, 200oC, 1000h

HTRB Pass Test conditions: VDS-80% =960V, 200oC, 1000h

H3TRB Pass Test conditions: 960V, 85oC, 85% RH, 1000h

Automotive qual. per Passed most stringent reliability standard,

Pass
AEC-Q101 critical for high system reliability

III. 75kW Aerospace Converter

The 1.2kV MOSFET system benefits have been validated in several applications, including a
75kW motor drive for Aerospace applications [5]. This high performance converter has input
voltage of +/-270VDC (540VDC) and performs a dual function: it drives a starter/generator to start an
aircraft engine or it powers a high speed compressor for cabin air conditioning. Fig. 4-a shows a
block diagram of the dual function converter. One of the key challenges in this application is a high
fundamental frequency (up to 1.8kHz) of the electric machine driving the compressor. In order to
achieve low current ripple and reduce winding losses, the motor drive needs to switch in the
frequency range between 20kHz and 40kHz. The motor drive also needs to comply with stringent
requirements for ElectroMagnetic Interference and ElectroMagnetic Compatibility. The EMI/EMC
compliance is typically accomplished by adding sizeable filtering components (inductors and
capacitors) at both input and output of the converter. The size of filtering components is inversely
proportional to switching frequency, which is another advantage of operating at higher frequencies.
The prototype 75kW SiC motor drive has a mass of 18kg and efficiency of at least 98.5% from half
to full load (Fig. 4-b). The efficiency results include losses in the input and output filters. Compared
to a Si IGBT motor drive with similar functionality, the SiC design has approximately 50% lower
mass and 70% lower losses. The dramatic reduction of power losses has significant impact on
 Materials Science Forum Vol. 858 897

cooling design – instead of liquid, a simpler air cooling approach becomes practical. In a modern
more-electric aircraft there are 4 to 8 such converters and the aircraft-level mass reduction can be up
to 250kg.

Fig 4: a) Experimental 75kW, 20kHz SiC motor drive for Aviation applications. b) The 98.5% efficient inverter is 50%
smaller and has 70% lower losses than a Si design, enabling air cooling and aircraft-level savings of up to 250kg.

IV. Megawatt-scale Solar Inverter

The SiC MOSFETs can be even more attractive compared to Si IGBTs at voltage ratings
between 1.7kV and 2.5kV. Building on the strong performance, reliability and robustness
established with the 1.2kV MOSFET product, more recent GE efforts have focused on reaching
entitlement of the higher voltage devices [6,7]. In parallel with the device optimization and
qualification, GE has ramped-up application efforts targeting SiC insertion in high volume, high
power Industrial applications. One such application example is an experimental 1.0MW solar
inverter highlighted in Fig. 5. The SiC inverter uses a simple two-level hard switched topology
operating at 8kHz. It consists of 18 high performance Econodual-style SiC MOSFET modules rated
at 1.7kV and 240A each – six modules in parallel per phase. The modules have been engineered for
very low inductance and they exhibit outstanding current sharing, both static and dynamic, without
any matching impedances. The excellent current sharing across six modules is enabled by the
following: SiC MOSFET’s positive temperature coefficient, symmetrical low inductance
commutation loops comprising the modules and busbars, symmetrical impedances of individual
gate layouts, matched propagation delay times for control and gatedriver circuits. The megawatt-
scale inverter has a total of 216 of the 1.7kV MOSFETs working in unison and delivering
outstanding performance.
The experimental results show module efficiency of 99.4%, which accounts for SiC conduction
and switching losses [6]. To measure such high efficiencies accurately, the experiment was
performed in a pump-back configuration where reactive power circulates between two bridges and
the losses equal to input power drawn from a power supply. The next step was to measure total
system efficiency which accounts for all electrical losses, including input and output filtering
components, cooling fans and control power. The experimental results are highlighted in Fig. 5,
showing the system efficiency as a function of DC input voltage and output power. The results
approach 99.0%. Such high efficiency dramatically simplifies cooling system, as graphically
illustrated below. In summary, the 1MW solar inverter demonstrates the best-in-class efficiency, air
cooled design with fewer parts and smaller footprint, smaller filtering components due to higher
switching frequency, simpler topology and controls and the overall lower cost solution.
898 Silicon Carbide and Related Materials 2015

Fig 5: a) Experimental results for a 1.0MW, 1.0-1.5kVOC, 8kHz SiC PV inverter; b) current sharing between 3 direct-
paralleled modules per phase is excellent; c) CEC efficiency is nearly 99%; d) lower losses enable air-cooling design.

V. Cost Impact and Manufacturing Scale-up

Device cost is an important consideration for SiC adoption in high volume Industrial
applications. SiC manufacturers are starting to make a transition to larger 150mm diameter wafers
which will help close the cost gap compared to high volume Si devices. GE has joined NY-PEMC,
a public-private partnership focused on producing low cost, high performance SiC devices at SUNY
Polytechnic Institute’s state-of-the-art 150mm / 200mm wafer fab in Albany, NY. The dedicated
SiC fab has capacity of up to 30,000 wafers per year and is expected to significantly reduce the cost
of devices.
It is, however, unrealistic to expect the cost of SiC device wafers to reach Si levels within next
several years. The key to a widespread adoption of SiC devices will be in the following two aspects:
1) increasing performance per unit area (i.e. A/cm2 or W/cm2) and 2) unlocking of significant value
at the system level. The recent improvements in the GE SiC MOSFET performance have been
reported elsewhere [6,7]. As for the system-level advantages of SiC, Fig. 6-a shows the power
rating-vs-frequency curves for two air cooled three-phase inverters. Both inverters comprise of three
half-bridge Econodual-style modules per phase and their power ratings at 2kHz are within 20%: GE
SiC PB3 is rated at 0.8MW, while Si IGBT inverter is rated at 0.65MW. The difference, however,
becomes much more pronounced at higher frequencies. Specifically, the SiC PB3 rating decreases
only 15% from 2kHz to 10kHz, while the Si IGBT output drops by 70%. The high frequency
capability of the SiC PB3 stems from the much lower switching losses. This advantage can be
exploited by implementing one or more of the following improvements: i) utilizing air- instead of
liquid-cooling to reduce system cost and complexity, ii) streamlining topology and controls from a
traditional 3-level IGBT approach to a simpler 2-level design, iii) reducing size and cost of
input/output filtering components and converter chassis/enclosure. Each application requires
detailed analysis to fully exploit the SiC attributes, namely: lower losses, increased junction
temperature and ability to switch at higher frequencies. Fig 6-b qualitatively depicts that it is
 Materials Science Forum Vol. 858 899

possible to unlock significant savings in other components/subsystems and achieve system-level

savings even while paying significantly more for SiC components.

Fig 6: a) Comparison of power rating-vs-frequency between SiC- and Si-based air cooled three-phase inverters. While
similarly rated at low frequencies, the power ratings diverge above 2kHz. b) Due to the superior capabilities, the SiC-
based approach opens a new design space and offers overall savings even at device costs significantly higher than Si.

VI. Summary and Next Steps

This paper highlights GE’s ongoing efforts to validate the SiC MOSFET performance, reliability
and robustness for Aerospace and Industrial applications. The extensive internal and third-party
reliability testing has demonstrated reliability comparable to mature silicon power devices and
mapped-out the device’s safe operating area. Two applications where SiC offers attractive value
proposition have been highlighted: the 75kW Aviation motor drive with excellent efficiency of
98.5% and the 99% efficient 1MW solar inverter. Both applications illustrate how SiC performance
advantage can offset higher device cost and result in significant system-level cost savings.
Significant additional savings can be expected from ongoing manufacturing scale-up to 150mm
wafer fab in partnership with New York State and SUNY Polytechnic.

References
[1] L. Stevanovic et al., 25th IEEE APEC, Palm Springs, CA, February 21-25, 2010, pp. 401-407
[2] A. Bolotnikov et al., 24th IEEE ISPSD, Bruges, Belgium, June 4-7, 2012, pp. 389-392
[3] P. Losee et al., 26th IEEE ISPSD, Waikoloa, HI, June 15-19, 2014, pp. 297-300
[4] A. Bolotnikov et al., Materials Science Forum Vols. 778-780, 2014, pp 947-950
[5] J. Smolenski et al., IEEE-USA Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, OH, May 3-6, 2012:
http://www.ieeeusa.org/calendar/conferences/annualmeeting/2012/program/files/Friday/Track3/SiC-
Power-Conversion-Smolenski.pdf
[6] A. Bolotnikov et al., 30th IEEE APEC, Charlotte, NC, March 15 - 19, 2015, pp. 2445-2452
[7] P. Losee et al., ICSCRM 2015, Giardini Naxos, Italy, October 5 - 9, 2015, to be published
[8] http://ny-pemc.org/
Silicon Carbide and Related Materials 2015
10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.858

Readiness of SiC MOSFETs for Aerospace and Industrial Applications

10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.858.894

DOI References
[4] A. Bolotnikov et al., Materials Science Forum Vols. 778-780, 2014, pp.947-950.
10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.778-780.947