PCB-Embedded Spiral Pattern Pick-up Coil Current Sensor for WBG Devices

• Main Authors: Hwa-Rang Cha, Kyeong-Mo Kim, Min-Soo Song, Rae-Young Kim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: Multilayer PCB pattern coil; current sensor; wide bandgap devices
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/21/5747

This paper proposes a current sensor for wide bandgap (WBG) devices. The current of a power semiconductor device is mainly measured using a Rogowski coil, an active current transformer, and a coaxial shunt resistor. The Rogowski coil and active current transformer are not suitable for the current measurement of surface mount WBG devices due to their operating principle. The coaxial shunt resistor causes parasitic inductance. Since WBG devices are more sensitive to parasitic inductance than silicon devices, parasitic inductance may affect circuit operation. To overcome these problems, this paper proposes a printed circuit board (PCB)-embedded spiral pattern pick-up coil current measurement for WBG devices. The proposed pick-up coil has high mutual inductance compared to the conventional pick-up coil, so the measurement sensitivity is high. In addition, there is no need for additional processing outside the PCB. Experimental results using a double pulse tester circuit are provided to verify the performance of the proposed current sensor.