Series-connected HV-IGBTs using active voltage control with status feedback circuit

The transient voltage unbalance is the major problem that limits the application of series-connected IGBTs in high voltage and high power converters. The asynchronous gate delay which causes that series-connected IGBTs do not turn-on and turn-off at the same time results in the most serious unbalanced voltage sharing. The active voltage control technique is proposed in this paper to solve the asynchronous gate delay problem. By sampling the feedback signal caused by unbalanced voltage, the microcontroller generates a time delay for gate driver to compensate the asynchronous gate delay. The most vital part of active voltage control is the status feedback circuit which is also given in detail in this paper. The function of the status feedback circuit and the effect of active voltage control are verified in a two series-connected HV-IGBTs platform in rated operation (5kV bus voltage and 600A load current).