A 4H Silicon Carbide Gate Buffer for Integrated Power Systems

作者：Ericson Nance^*; Frank Shane; Britton Chuck; Marlino Laura; Ryu Sei Hyung; Grider Dave; Mantooth Alan; Francis Matt; Lamichhane Ranjan; Mudholkar Mihir; Shepherd Paul; Glover Michael; Valle Mayorga Javier; McNutt Ty; Barkley Adam; Whitaker Bret; Cole Zach; Passmore Brandon; Lostetter Alex

来源：IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 2014, 29(2): 539-542.

DOI：10.1109/TPEL.2013.2271906

• Gate buffer
• gate driver
• high-temperature electronics
• silicon carbide (SiC)
• 4H-SiC

A gate buffer fabricated in a 2-mu m 4H silicon carbide (SiC) process is presented. The circuit is composed of an input buffer stage with a push-pull output stage, and is fabricated using enhancement mode N-channel FETs in a process optimized for SiC power switching devices. Simulation and measurement results of the fabricated gate buffer are presented and compared for operation at various voltage supply levels, with a capacitive load of 2 nF. Details of the design including layout specifics, simulation results, and directions for future improvement of this buffer are presented. In addition, plans for its incorporation into an isolated high-side/low-side gate-driver architecture, fully integrated with power switching devices in a SiC process, are briefly discussed. This letter represents the first reported MOSFET-based gate buffer fabricated in 4H SiC.

• 出版日期2014-2