Power supply for a IGBT-driver with high insulation voltage based on a printed planar transformers

For the operation of high-power semiconductors in medium-voltage converters, the insulation of the control signal as well as for the power-supply is indispensable. In this paper, we present a DC/DC-converter based on a printed transformer that reached an insulation voltage of 10 kV. Due to the fact that the circuit board itself is used as insulation, we avoid the use of vias or a closed magnetic core. The converter operates at a frequency of 420 kHz and provides an output power of 6 W. By minimising the amount of components and not using a standard transformer, a great cost-reduction has been achieved.