JUNCTION TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT OF A POWER MOSFET
A component used as a circuit breaker for a power inverter for actuating a drive motor of a steering support system of a vehicle comprises a MOSFET having a gate, a drain and a source, and a first diode having an anode and a cathode, wherein the diode is provided for measuring the junction temperature of the MOSFET, and wherein the MOSFET is of the n-channel type or p-channel type, and the source is connected to the cathode.
1 . A component used as a circuit breaker for a power inverter for actuating a drive motor of the steering support system of a vehicle, comprising:
a MOSFET having a gate, a drain and a source, and
a first diode having an anode and a cathode, wherein the diode is provided for measuring the junction temperature of the MOSFET, and wherein
the MOSFET is of the n-channel type or p-channel type, and the source is connected to the cathode.
2 . The component according to claim 1 , wherein the first diode and the MOSFET are disposed on the same semiconductor substrate.
3 . The component according to claim 1 , wherein the first diode is designed as a silicon diode, a suppressor diode, a Schottky diode, a PIN diode or a Zener diode.
4 . A component according to claim 1 , wherein the component comprises a second diode and/or a third diode and/or a fourth diode and/or any number of additional diodes, wherein the first diode and/or the second diode and/or the third diode and/or the fourth diode and/or any number of additional diodes are connected in series and/or are thermally coupled to the barrier layer of the MOSFET.
5 . A power-assisted steering mechanism for a motor vehicle, comprising:
a drive motor for generating a drive torque on a steering rack of a steering system;
and
a power inverter for actuating the drive motor,
wherein
the power inverter comprises a component and/or six components according to claim 1 .
6 . A steering system comprising a power-assisted steering mechanism according to claim 5 .
7 . A method for measuring the junction temperature of a MOSFET of a component according to claim 1 , comprising the steps of:
feeding a constant forward current I F into the diode; and
measuring the forward voltage V F of the diode.
8 . A method for measuring the junction temperature of a MOSFET of a component according to claim 1 , comprising the steps of:
maintaining the forward voltage V F the diode constant; and
measuring the forward current I F of the diode.