Title :
Active voltage balancement of series connected IGBTs
Author :
Consoli, Alfio ; Musumeci, Salvatore ; Oriti, Giovanna ; Testa, Antonio
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr., Electron. & Syst. Eng., Catania Univ., Italy
Abstract :
Series connection of IGBT devices is a standard solution in high voltage power conversion applications, such as color TV deflections, inverters for medium voltage lines or modern railway traction drives. In serial connections of IGBTs, a suitable voltage balance must be guaranteed either at steady state or during switching transients in order to avoid damaging overvoltages. In the present paper, a new approach is proposed in order to equalize the voltage distribution between series connected IGBTs during turn-off transients by controlling the gate capacitance charge profile. The main advantages of such an approach consist in avoiding the use of passive components on the power side and in working exclusively on the gate driving signals. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified by simulation and experimental tests
Keywords :
DC-AC power convertors; bipolar transistor switches; commutation; insulated gate bipolar transistors; invertors; power bipolar transistors; power semiconductor switches; power system transients; switching circuits; voltage distribution; active voltage balancing; applications; gate capacitance charge profile; gate driving signals; high voltage power conversion; overvoltages; passive components; series connected IGBTs; steady state; switching transients; turn-off transients; voltage distribution; Capacitance; Insulated gate bipolar transistors; Inverters; Medium voltage; Power conversion; Rail transportation; Steady-state; Surges; TV; Voltage control;
Conference_Titel :
Industry Applications Conference, 1995. Thirtieth IAS Annual Meeting, IAS '95., Conference Record of the 1995 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Orlando, FL
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3008-0
DOI :
10.1109/IAS.1995.530654