Optimized Half-Bridge Gate-Drive with low Time-Skew for RC-IGBTs and SiC-MOSFET Dead-Time Control

Abstract:
To enhance the efficiency of reverse-conducting IGBTs and silicon carbide MOSFETs, advanced gate drive units can be employed to minimize operational losses. This entails the crucial task of current direction detection in the gate drive system, ensuring optimal semiconductor operation. If necessary, these units insert desaturation pulses just before switching, reducing switching losses. However, the introduction of desaturation pulses also raises the risk of overlapping switching, as the most effective desaturation pulse must be timed very precisely relative to the opposite switch’s turn-on. To address this challenge, a sophisticated gate drive unit is proposed in this paper, emphasizing minimal time-skew and precise timing.