Thermal Modelling and Efficiency Analysis of On-Board Charger Using Wide-Gap Semiconductor Devices for EV Application

As Electric Vehicle (EV) adoption accelerates, the demand for high-performance and thermally efficient charging infrastructure intensifies. With the continuous advancements and findings in the field of semiconductors and power electronics devices, the need to compare the thermal efficiencies of conventional devices and recent devices is a given. This paper gives a thorough comparative thermal analysis of different semiconductor technologies for the power devices proposed in Onboard Electric Vehicle Charger (OBEVC) using the PLECS software environment. The investigation contrasts the heat loss characteristics and thermal performance of designs utilizing conventional Silicon (Si) MOSFETs, SiC MOSFETs and diodes, and GaN MOSFETs. The research incorporates precise thermal models for WBG devices, carefully taking into factors such as temperature-dependent losses and junction-to-case resistances. Furthermore, the analysis assesses the junction temperatures, maximum component temperatures, and thermal management factors for every design. The goal of this paper is to improve the design of high-performance and thermally efficient EV charging infrastructure by offering important insights into the thermal behavior of WBG Semiconductor devices in comparison to its typical Si counterparts.