Realization of SiC-current limiting devices for serial protection of aircraft electronics

The wide-scale application of composite materials, such as carbon, aramid and glass fiber reinforced plastic, in aircraft fuselage to improve the fuel efficiency, have made the modern designs more susceptible to lightning strikes[1]. Widely used surge protection techniques, such as high power silicon zeners “tranzorbs”, metal oxide varistors and gas discharge tubes-based suppressors, are mostly incompatible with modern designs since the surge level could significantly rise, which generally results in larger components [2]. Under typical conditions, the peak voltage could be as high as ± 3.8 kV, while impedances are low. Realization of high performance current limiters, which could survive the combination of high-voltage and high temperature, is essential to overcome the issue of low impedance met in composite airframe environments [3].