This book focuses on how to characterize the emerging wide bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor switching devices, including silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) devices. Power semiconductor switching devices are at the heart of modern power electronics converters. Today's commercial power semiconductor devices are still dominated by the mature and well-established silicon (Si) technology. Since the advent of Si thyristors in the 1950s, Si power semiconductor devices have gone through many generations of development in the last 60 years and are approaching material theoretical limitations in terms of blocking voltage, operation temperature, and conduction and switching characteristics. These intrinsic physical limits become a barrier to achieving higher performance power conversion.

Chapter Contents:

• 1.1 Overview of WBG devices
• 1.1.1 WBG devices in comparison to Si devices
• 1.1.2 WBG device status
• 1.1.2.1 SiC devices
• 1.1.2.2 GaN transistors
• 1.2 Motivation for WBG device characterization
• 1.3 About this book
• References

Inspec keywords: silicon compounds; power semiconductor switches; wide band gap semiconductors; thyristor convertors; III-V semiconductors; gallium compounds

Other keywords: operation temperature; silicon carbide; conduction characteristics; silicon technology; wide bandgap power semiconductor devices; silicon thyristors; switching characteristics; SiC; gallium nitride; blocking voltage; power electronics converters; GaN; WBG power semiconductor switching devices

Subjects: Power convertors and power supplies to apparatus; Power semiconductor devices; Relays and switches