Evaluation and Efficiency Study of High Current Class Discrete IGBTs-based Converter Systems

Abstract:
The most recent generation technologies of discrete insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) could boost the power density and efficiency of converter systems significantly. This paper investigates the performance and conse-quences of single 140 A discrete IGBT-based converter systems, including a comprehensive comparison to state-of-the-art systems with 75 A devices in parallel and silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET)-based converters. This study evaluates the improvements in the converter system by using the commercially available 1200 V IGBTs from different technologies in 140 A (G1) and 75 A (G2 and G3) in TO247 PLUS packages and 1200 V SiC MOSFET in 14 milliohm (G4) in TO247 package. To comprehend the perfor-mance and viability of discrete IGBTs in a power electronics system, dynamic and static measurements were conducted, followed by an application measurement test in a three-level T-type clamped neutral point topology inverter. In this investigation, we acquire an in-depth understanding of the various test combinations of discrete IGBT-based converter systems, ultimately achieving an efficiency of 97.5% with 1 x G1 in comparison to a state-of-the-art system with 2 x G2 with an efficiency of 97%. In addition, the adaptability of new-generation IGBT char-acteristics demonstrated that Si IGBTs can occasionally substitute SiC MOSFETs.