Loss Measurement of Low RDS Devices Through Thermal Modelling - The Advantage of Not Turning it Fully On

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel thermal modeling method for low RDS devices that avoids high currents by regulating transistor current with low gate voltages, enabling accurate thermal analysis without full device activation.

Contribution

It proposes a new low-current power loss measurement technique applicable across various transistor technologies, improving thermal modeling accuracy.

Findings

Effective thermal limits achieved with low gate voltages

Method validated experimentally across Si, SiC, and GaN transistors

Reduces heating and stability issues during testing

Abstract

This paper presents and evaluates a novel method for generating power losses on transistors avoiding high currents. These could heat up the circuit tracks, affecting the accurate thermal modeling of the system. The proposed procedure is based on the transistor current regulation with low gate voltages and the linearity between power and temperature, being useful for all transistor technologies (Si, SiC and GaN). Through this method, low DC currents are enough to bring transistors to their thermal limits. Thermal stability issues and their differences between technologies are discussed and an experimental validation of the method is carried out.