Abstract
Modern wide-bandgap (WBG) devices, such as silicon carbide (SiC) or gallium nitride (GaN) based devices, have emerged and been increasingly used in power electronics (PE) applications due to their superior switching feature. The power losses of these devices become the key of system efficiency improvement, especially for high-frequency applications. In this paper, a generalized behavioral model of a switch-diode cell (SDC) is proposed for power loss estimation in the electromagnetic transient simulation. The proposed model is developed based on the circuit level switching process analysis, which considers the effects of parasitics, the operating temperature, and the interaction of diode and switch. In addition, the transient waveforms of the SDC are simulated by the proposed model using dependent voltage and current sources with passive components. Besides, the approaches of obtaining model parameters from the datasheets are given and the modelling method is applicable to various semiconductors such Si insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), Si/SiC metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), and GaN devices. Further, a multi-dimensional power loss table in a wide range of operating conditions can be obtained with fast speed and reasonable accuracy. The proposed approach is implemented in PSCAD/ Electromagnetic Transients including DC, EMTDC, (v4.6, Winnipeg, MB, Canada) and further verified by the hardware setups including different daughter boards for different devices.
Highlights
Accepted: 4 March 2021A power electronics (PE) system plays a key role in the process of efficient energy control, conversion, and management
A generalized behavioral modelling approach of the switch-diode cell for power loss prediction is proposed, implemented in PSCAD/EMTDC, and validated by experimental results in double-pulse tests. This proposed model consists of an active switch model and diode model and it can be used for different modern power semiconductors
The modelling approach along with power loss analysis is derived based on the comprehensive switching process analysis in a clamped inductive switching circuit
Summary
Accepted: 4 March 2021A power electronics (PE) system plays a key role in the process of efficient energy control, conversion, and management. Power semiconductor devices are the core components in a PE system and have a significant impact on system efficiency, reliability, and cost [1]. Silicon-based devices, such as insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) [2], metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) [3], are mainly and widely used in various modern PE applications (e.g., Photovoltaics (PV) [4], Power. Thereby, the switching frequency can be further increased bringing the merits of size reduction for magnetic components, high power density, and high efficiency. Whereas the increased power losses of semiconductors are typically the main contributor to total loss especially for high-frequency (HF) applications, and the generated heat energy during switching transition may lead to fatigue failure and affect the reliability [15].
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