Three-State Output Gate Driver for IGBTs

Abstract:
This paper presents a gate driver for IGBTs having three distinct state outputs: 1) turn-on state, 2) turn-off state and 3) open-circuit state. The gate driver implements a robust control method, which immediately eliminates high-frequency oscillations typically appearing in IGBTs in the event of a short circuit. In the developed prototype, two isolated gate drivers have been used to operate the IGBT in the three distinct modes. The open-circuit state is applied when the output of both gate drivers is set low, decoupling the IGBT from the gate circuit. The new concept has been validated under normal switching and short circuit events, demonstrating a smooth operation of the IGBT in normal operations and the capability to survive short circuit events on top of it.