Computer-aided design of power transistor inverter snubber circuits

The conventional voltage-source inverter snubber circuit has been examined in detail by computer simulations. A new snubber arrangement is proposed and analysed. It aims to reduce the transient voltage overshoot without incurring excessive switching losses. Also, the reverse-recovery processes of the snubber diodes are controlled so that the requirement for fast snubber diodes is not mandatory. Computer simulations by the program SPICE have been used throughout the analysis and design process, and hence have been proved to be a useful design tool.