Accurate Electro-Thermal Modeling for an Half-bridge Converter Based on Parallel-connected SiC Devices

This paper proposes a modeling approach able to accurately reproduce the thermal behavior of a 20-kW Half-bridge (HB) converter based on parallel-connected SiC devices, properly designed for ensuring a symmetric and integrated layout for the power and gate-driver boards. An experimental characterization is operated for extracting the dataset needed for implementing the proposed model, which includes the thermal parameters of the heatsink considered and the switching losses of the converter designed. The model performances are validated through experimental tests carried out in different operating conditions in terms of output power and number of parallel-connected SiC devices for the HB converter. The results demonstrate the optimal capability of the proposed modeling approach in correctly estimating the transient behavior of the heatsink temperature over time, with errors always lower than 2°C and accuracy improvements up to 52% when experimental dataset are adopted instead of datasheet information.