Performance evaluation of multiple Si and SiC solid state devices for circuit breaker application in 380VDC delivery system

The DC power delivery system is becoming an appealing research topic and real world solution due to its higher energy efficiency compare with AC delivery system. It has already been applied in data centers, commercial buildings, electrical vehicle charge stations and micro grid systems, etc. Among many new issues that need to be addressed for the DC power delivery system, ultra-fast and accurate protection is one of them. The 1200V SiC devices has been developed by many manufacturers in recent years which makes them good candidates in DC circuit breaker application. In this paper, the 380V DC circuit breaker employing solid state devices for DC power delivery system has been proposed and introduced. The criteria of device characteristics particularly for DC solid state circuit breaker application is discussed and defined. Characteristics of 4 different Si and SiC solid state devices in similar power rating have been compared based on defined criteria. The pros and cons of different devices candidates is introduced with test results for DC circuit breaker application.