Enabling pressure tolerant power electronic converters for subsea applications

This paper present result from an on-going research project on pressure tolerant power electronics where the power electronic components are enabled to operate in a pressurized dielectric environment. The driving force for the research is to provide new solutions for subsea high power converters that can get benefits by reduced weight and volume of pressure chambers, reduced number of electric power penetrators, obtain less complexity and more reliable cooling system, reduced costs and increased overall reliability. The components of most concern have been power semiconductors, power capacitors and IGBT gate drivers. Even though the work reported in this paper is still in progress, the basic investigations and experimental work so far indicates that reliable solutions for pressure tolerant power electronics has a high potential for success, when all power components and gate driver electronics are vacuumized and soaked in a proper dielectric fluid. This is valid for the individual components as well as for the complete circuits. Also the feedbacks from the components manufacturers are uplifting in that respect.