Design Comparison of High-Power Medium-Voltage Converters Based on a 6.5-kV Si-IGBT/Si-PiN Diode, a 6.5-kV Si-IGBT/SiC-JBS Diode, and a 10-kV SiC-MOSFET/SiC-JBS Diode

In this paper, a comparative design study of high-power medium-voltage three-level neutral-point-clamped converters with a 6.5-kV Si-IGBT/Si-PiN diode, a 6.5-kV Si-IGBT/SiC-JBS diode, and a 10-kV SiC-MOSFET/SiC-JBS diode is presented. A circuit model of a 100-A power module, including packaging parasitic inductances, is developed based on device die SPICE-based circuit models for each power device. Switching waveforms, characteristics, and switching power and energy loss measurements of the power modules, including symmetric/asymmetric parasitic inductances, are presented. High-power converter designs and SPICE circuit simulations are carried out, and power loss and efficiencies are compared for a pulsewidth-modulated (PMW) 1-MW power converter at 1-, 5-, and 10-kHz switching frequencies for application in shipboard power system and a PWM vector-controlled and a line-frequency angle-controlled 20- to 40-MVA power converter at 60-Hz, 540-Hz, and 1-kHz switching frequencies for active mobile substation application. It is shown that the 6.5-kV Si-IGBT incorporating an antiparallel SiC-JBS diode, with its high efficiency performance up to 5-kHz switching frequency, is a strong candidate for megawatt-range power converters. The 10-kV SiC-MOSFET/SiC-JBS diode remains an option for higher switching frequency (5-10 kHz) high-power converters.