Research on Single-Phase PWM Converter with Reverse Conducting IGBT Based on Loss Threshold Desaturation Control

Abstract

In the application of vehicle power supply and distributed power generation, there are strict requirements for the pulse width modulation (PWM) converter regarding power density and reliability. When compared with the conventional insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) module, the Reverse Conducting-Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (RC-IGBT) with the same package has a lower thermal resistance and higher current tolerance. By applying the gate desaturation control, the reverse recovery loss of the RC-IGBT diode may be reduced. In this paper, a loss threshold desaturation control method is studied to improve the output characteristics of the single-phase PWM converter with a low switching frequency. The gate desaturation control characteristics of the RC-IGBT's diode are studied. A proper current limit is set to avoid the ineffective infliction of the desaturation pulse, while the bridge arm current crosses zero. The expectation of optimized loss decrease is obtained, and the better performance for the RC-IGBTs of the single-phase PWM converter is achieved through the optimized desaturation pulse distribution. Finally, the improved predictive current control algorithm that is applied to the PWM converter with RC-IGBTs is simulated, and is operated and tested on the scaled reduced power platform. The results prove that the gate desaturation control with the improved predictive current algorithm may effectively improve the RC-IGBT's characteristics, and realize the stable output of the PWM converter.

Design, Analysis and Experimental Verification of the Self-Resonant Inverter for Induction Heating Crucible Melting Furnace Based on IGBTs Connected in Parallel

“…Following the recommendations given by IGBT manufacturers and the industrial research on induction heating [45][46][47], as a first assumption, a derating factor of ∆ = 0.2 is accepted. A suitable transistor technology for a resonant inverter can be chosen (Trenchstop, Trench gate field-stop, etc., RC-IGBT [48,49]) with Positive Thermal Coefficient (PTC). Considering the current ranges for the discrete IGBT transistors, assembled in TO-247, TO-3PN, TO-264, etc.…”

“…Nowadays, Revers Conducting IGBTs (RC-IGBTs), specialised for resonant inverters, i.e., applicable for induction heating systems, are offered by manufacturers [45][46][47][48]. According to the presented applications [45], the analysis of the transistors' technology and their implementation in the induction inverters [47] justifies the suggestion that paralleled RC-IGBT can operate with a good current sharing and, hence, low current mismatch.…”

“…According to the presented applications [45], the analysis of the transistors' technology and their implementation in the induction inverters [47] justifies the suggestion that paralleled RC-IGBT can operate with a good current sharing and, hence, low current mismatch. The experimental data presented with oscillograms showed inverters' soft-switching operation [45,[47][48][49][50] in the induction heating resonant inverters. Furthermore, the assembling procedure applied for half-bridge resonant inverters [46] implies that current equalisation for the self-resonant induction converters based on paralleled IGBTs can be easily achievable.…”

A Buck-Boost Transformerless DC–DC Converter Based on IGBT Modules for Fast Charge of Electric Vehicles

“…Two different IGBT structures, Floating Island (FLI) and Revers Conducting (RC-IGBT), are analyzed in [18] and [19,20] respectively. These technologies offer significant advantages such as a lower break-down voltage, which leads to lower losses and better efficiency, better robustness under fault conditions, etc.…”

Impedance Modeling and Stability Analysis for Cascade System of Three-Phase PWM Rectifier and LLC Resonant Converter

“…However, this time domain analysis method requires knowing the details of all circuit topology and control strategies of the whole system and establishing the time-domain state space model. The modeling process is very complex [8][9][10]. In order to adapt to a complex cascade system structure, a frequency domain analysis method based on the impedance model can be used.…”