Closed Loop dv/dt Control for Equal Voltage Sharing Between Series Connected SiC MOSFETs
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Abstract
An efficient and cost-effective Medium-Voltage (MV) power semiconductor switch, which is capable of high switching speed, is highly desirable for many existing and emerging high power MV power conversion applications, such as solid-state transformers, MV motor drives, renewable energy and storage integration with the medium voltage grid, Flexible Alternating Current Transmission System (FACTS) devices etc. Emerging MV Silicon Carbide (SiC) 10 kV/15 kV MOSFETs and IGBTs can be the potential candidate for these applications. However, high cost, lack of the reliability data, and limited availability are the major hurdles for the successful adoption of these devices. Efficient and cost-effective MV switches can be also realized by series connection of reliable, and commercially available Low-Voltage (LV) devices. The main concern of the series connected SiC devices is unequal voltage distribution between devices during transient and steady state. This thesis deals with this issue and proposes a closed loop active gate driver circuit which can control rate of rise of drain-source voltage of SiC MOSFET during turn-off and turn-on interval without any significant penalty on switching losses.