A voltage-source inverter using IGBTs for a 50 kHz 10 kV corona surface treater

The authors describe a 50 kHz 5 kVA voltage-source inverter using insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), a series-resonant circuit including a step-up transformer of turn ratio 1:10, and a corona surface treater. The series-resonant circuit is used as a matching circuit between the inverter of output voltage 250 V and the corona surface treater of input voltage 10 kV. Experimental results obtained from the prototype inverter system are shown to verify the stable inverter operation and proper corona discharge irrespective of load conditions. The estimated inverter efficiency is 95%, and the measured overall efficiency of the system is 74%.<>