This paper compares and evaluates the single pulse short-circuit robustness of SiC MOSFETs with linear and hexagonal cell topologies under different gate voltages, bus voltages, and case temperatures. The short-circuit failure mechanisms of the linear and hexagonal cell topologies are studied. A new switching model for gate failure and thermal runaway short-circuit failure modes is proposed and analyzed. The robustness performance of the linear and hexagonal cell topologies is compared and evaluated under the same short-circuit power for the first time, fully revealing the comprehensive impact mechanism of cell topologies on the short-circuit robustness for SiC MOSFETs.@en