Analytical Modeling of Semiconductor Losses in Matrix Converters

Analytical models for estimating semiconductor losses are commonly used for heatsink selection in the design process of power converters. While such models are established and widely known for different DC-DC converters, rectifiers and inverters, they have not been developed for matrix converters. Therefore, one has to resort to the use of numerical simulation for this purpose. Although numerical simulation is a straightforward approach as long as the power switching devices are properly modeled, it is typically time consuming and requires accurate physical models for the device. In this paper, an analytical approach to characterizing the semiconductor losses of the conventional matrix converter (CMC) and the indirect matrix converter (IMC) is presented. The analytical results are verified against the simulation results from a detailed numerical model under a wide variety of operating conditions