Programmable Gate Driver Solution with Optimized Two-Level Turn-Off for Paralleled IGBTs in Renewable Energy Application

Inhalt:
This paper presents a programmable gate driver solution for renewable energy applications. From the hardware structure perspective, the solution consists of two parts. The first part is an Intelligent Main Control unit (IMC) that employs an onboard FPGA. The main function of the IMC is to receive the signal from the system controller and return feedback information on IGBT temperature, UVLO and short-circuit. The second part of the assembly is the Module Adapted Gate Driver unit (MAG). The MAG board is dedicated to a unique IGBT module package (such as the popular 17 mm IGBT package) and employs SCALE(TM)-2 technology to optimize the switching behavior of the IGBT, especially for paralleled IGBT applications. A two-level turn-off function is included, which limits collector-emitter voltage caused by large stray inductances in the collector path during a turn-off event. The performance of two-level turn-off is compared to other overvoltage protection methods.