Evaluation of the turn-off transient controllability for high-power IGBT modules

Abstract

The efficient and flexible conversion of electrical energy is increasingly accomplished by megawatt insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules. Their dynamic performance is influenced by the gate driver control, operating points and the switching loop parasitics, which are crucial to their optimized operational behaviours, efficiency and field reliability. This paper investigates the controllability of the transient voltage and current slopes of megawatt IGBT modules during their turn-off transitions and proposes an efficient assessment method accordingly. Firstly, the causal relationship of transient characteristic variations and controllability is investigated analytically. Then, major factors impacting the controllability are analysed and validated, including the charge carrier profile, the operating points (i.e. the load voltage, the load current, and the junction temperature), and the gate resistance. Finally, an efficient method using the MOS-channel turn-off point on calibrated gate voltage waveform is proposed for the controllability evaluation, which can guide the IGBT, gate driver, and converter design