The Fast Overvoltage Protection Consideration and Design for SiC-Based Matrix Converters

Abstract

AbstractMatrix converters feature low switching loss, small electromagnetic interference filter, and potential for achieving high power density. With the employment of wide-bandgap devices, such as silicon carbide devices, the converter performance can be further improved. For a safe operation of matrix converters, an overvoltage protection circuit is necessary to limit the voltage stress of the devices during fault conditions. Due to the high switching speed of silicon carbide devices, the topology and layout design of the overvoltage protection circuit is critical to ensure fast and robust protection for the devices. In this paper, a detachable overvoltage protection circuit was designed for each phase-leg of the matrix converter. The topology and hardware layout design are elaborated. A 15 kW full silicon-carbide implemented matrix converter was built and the designed overvoltage protection circuits were employed and tested.