Title :
Optimisation and integration of an active clamping circuit for IGBT series association
Author :
Saiz, J. ; Mermet, M. ; Frey, D. ; Jeannin, P.-O. ; Schanen, J.L. ; Muszicki, P.
Author_Institution :
Alstom Transp., Semeac, France
Abstract :
Among the various solutions for the series association of high power IGBTs, the active clamping circuit insures both protection and voltage balancing, within good reliability and compactness. Therefore, this structure has been chosen to be integrated closed to the IGBTs. The design of this circuit leads to the resolution of a compromise between a good balancing and limited additional losses. The aim of this paper is to optimise this circuit, in order to reduce the losses, in the IGBTs as well as in the active clamping circuit. This design has been validated in a 3 kV 400 A test bench, using three 1.7 kV components in series.
Keywords :
active networks; bipolar transistor switches; circuit optimisation; insulated gate bipolar transistors; power bipolar transistors; power semiconductor switches; semiconductor device reliability; 1.7 kV; 3 kV; 400 A; active clamping circuit integration; active clamping circuit optimisation; compactness; high-power IGBT series association; losses reduction; protection; reliability; voltage balancing; Capacitors; Circuit testing; Clamps; Delay; Diodes; Feedback loop; Insulated gate bipolar transistors; Integrated circuit reliability; Protection; Voltage control;
Conference_Titel :
Industry Applications Conference, 2001. Thirty-Sixth IAS Annual Meeting. Conference Record of the 2001 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Chicago, IL, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7114-3
DOI :
10.1109/IAS.2001.955594
