IGBT gate voltage profiling as a means of realising an improved trade-off between EMI generation and turn-on switching losses

A gate drive circuit which applies a programmed voltage profile to the gate of an IGBT is used to demonstrate that an improvement of approximately 20 dB can be made to the trade-off realised between turn-on switching losses and EMI generation, compared to conventional gate drive techniques. The measurement and analysis techniques employed to quantify and improve this trade-off are presented, and the EMI-critical aspects of IGBT switching behaviour are identified using these techniques.