Dr.-Ing. Patrick Hofstetter was awarded the ETG Literature Prize 2021

In his publication, Dr.-Ing. Patrick Hofstetter deals with the topic of parasitic switching on of SiC MOSFETs in a half-bridge, as is common in traction, for example, which is relevant today. SiC MOSFETs have been used increasingly for several years and are replacing the previous Si IGBTs and their anti-parallel Si diodes in many applications. The reasons are the possibility of very fast and low-loss switching, as well as the ability to conduct backwards and thus make the anti-parallel diode unnecessary. However, the unwanted parasitic switching on of the switched-off SiC MOSFET of a half-bridge leads to considerable challenges. Many publications therefore deal with the analysis of parasitic turn-on or the avoidance of parasitic turn-on.

Dr.-Ing. Patrick Hofstetter is taking a completely different, new approach.

He shows that parasitic switching on can be used to reduce overvoltage at the recovery diode. As a result, SiC MOSFETs can be switched faster and losses reduced. The outstanding scientific contribution of the work lies in the pursuit of an unconventional approach and the comprehensive systematic investigation of the switching processes as well as the losses occurring at various, application-typical parameters. The publication thus makes a valuable contribution to the further use of SiC MOSFETs.