Turn-on loss reduction of 6.5kV/500 a trench/field-stop IGBTs using a simple GDU

In recent years a tendency to increase the number of semiconductor switches in power electronic systems can be observed. This changes the requirements of modern gate units, which are forced to become more simple and reliable. Nevertheless, the performance of the switches should not be affected. This paper presents a review of the state of the art for GDUs. Since existing driving methods are often far too complex and expensive for modern PE-Systems (e.g. power electronic traction transformer etc.), a new simple Dual Stage Driver GDU with fixed timing control is proposed to reduce the IGBT turn-on losses. A detailed analysis of the timing dependency of important switching characteristics is given for every operating point to verify this method.