Performance Comparison of 1200 V SiC MOSFET and Si IGBT Used in Power Integrated Module for 1100 V Solar Boost Stage

This application note compares the performance of two power integrated modules (PIMs) in the boost stage of an 1100 V solar inverter. One PIM used state−of−the−art silicon 1200 V IGBT (part number NXH100B120H3Q0 defined as PIM−IGBT and the other PIM used a new 1200 V SiC MOSFET (part number NXH40B120MNQ0 defined as PIM−SIC. These two PIMs utilized the same Q0 package technology and SiC Schottky boost diode. They are pin−to−pin compatible allowing customers to upgrade from Si IGBT to the SiC MOSFET version. Due to faster switching characteristics of the SiC device, this paper explains gate driver and PCB layout topics which must be considered when using fast switching devices like SiC MOSFETs.