Cryogenic Characterization and Modeling of Silicon IGBT for Hybrid Aircraft Application

Cryogenic operation of power electronic converters promises higher density, better efficiency, lower thermal management requirement and higher reliability. However, the wide variation in power semiconductor device performance at deep cryogenic temperatures might cause catastrophic failure if not considered accordingly during the design phase. The work presented in this paper explores a simple cryogenic characterization method for insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBT). In addition, an open access physics-based IGBT compact model has been modified with cryo-compatible temperature scaling equations in order to investigate the merit of the chosen device in a power electronic system. A commercial field stop trench IGBT (50A/650V) has been used for the electrical characterization. Furthermore, additional complicated converter circuits (e.g. a buck converter and a 5-level modular multilevel inverter) has been simulated, and loss calculation has been conducted to provide a means for designers to select best devices for appropriate low temperature applications.