Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor Switching Research Articles

Fundamental frequency switching strategies of a seven level hybrid cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter

This paper presents a novel hybrid cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter (HCHB MLI) designed to address the growing importance of multilevel inverters in the context of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and fuel cells. The proposed topology features eight insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) switches and utilizes two distinct input direct current (DC) sources: a battery and a capacitor, making it a hybrid system. The control strategy employed in this topology is based on fundamental switching frequency techniques. Simulation results of the proposed topology are conducted using MATLAB/Simulink software, while hardware experimentation with a single-phase H-bridge inverter is also demonstrated in the paper. For pulse generation and IGBT switch control, an Arduino UNO microcontroller is utilized. The output voltage of the single-phase H-bridge inverter is verified through experimentation using a cathode-ray oscilloscope (CRO).

Analysis of Blocking Capability Failure Mechanism in IGBT Module Under High Salt Spray Environment

High salt spray environment is a threat to the long-term stability and the robustness of an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) module. Failure mechanisms of IGBTs have been discussed in normal and high humidity environment, which in high salt spray environment is unclear and seldom reported. In this paper, experiments in high salt spray environment are conducted on wire-bonding IGBT modules to reveal failure mechanism. Different degradations of the blocking capability are observed for the same packaged IGBTs in the salt spray environment. Based on experiment results, degradation substances in the internal package are analyzed by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to reveal the key composition affecting the blocking capability of IGBT switches. Finally, a failure model is used to reveal the mechanism that the insulation strength of the terminal area in the chip edge is reduced by substances, resulting in the blocking failure of IGBT switches. The analysis of IGBT module failure mechanism is of great significance to reliability evaluation and optimal design for package structures of power modules applied in harsh environments.

Wavelet-based rapid identification of IGBT switch breakdown in voltage source converter

The power electronic converters have drawn a lot of attention from investigators in recent years. Modern power electronics converters rely heavily on insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT). Conventional distribution systems may be made more reliable, stable, and secure by using a microgrid (MG). An acceptable, enticing, and useful option for power distribution networks is inverter-based MGs. This article describes a method for identifying the IGBT switch breakdown failure (IBDF) in a 3-phase, 3-level Voltage Source Converter (VSC) linked to the photovoltaic (PV) grid. The VSC's output phase voltage was subjected to an analysis based on the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) methodology. Kurtosis, skewness, and root-mean-square (RMS) values of the wavelet coefficients of the output phase voltage harmonic spectra of the VSC are all factored in during studies. For the detection of IBDF, comparative learning has been used to identify the specific parameter that is most suitable. Moreover, the comparative analysis and unique contribution of this investigation have been demonstrated.

Enhanced marine predators algorithm optimized support vector machine for IGBT switching power loss estimation

As the use of renewable energy generation continues to grow, improving power conversion efficiency has become an urgent task. This study aims to propose a high-precision power module loss estimation method, with a focus on predicting the switching losses of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules, which is crucial for the reliability assessment of IGBT modules. The main objective of this study is to establish a high-precision predictive model for IGBT module switching losses to enhance the reliability and efficiency of these devices. Firstly, a dynamic characteristic test platform was established to acquire relevant data for in-depth analysis of IGBT behavior. Secondly, given the excellent performance of support vector machine (SVM) in handling both strong and small-sized datasets, SVM was chosen as the foundational model for high-precision switching loss estimation. Subsequently, an enhanced marine predatory algorithm (EMPA), known for its superior convergence precision and speed, was introduced to optimize the random parameters of SVM. Finally, a method based on the optimized EMPA-SVM was constructed for predicting IGBT switching power losses. The proposed approach was validated using dynamic characteristic test data. And it indicated that the predictive model achieved the value of R 2 exceeding 99.8% for switching losses. Additionally, the mean absolute error and root mean square error metrics of EMPA-SVM model outperformed other models. Therefore, the research results unambiguously demonstrate the significant benefits of accurately predicting IGBT switching losses in enhancing device performance.

Study of the performance of fault-tolerant multi-level inverter included in shunt active power filter

<p><span lang="EN-US">Nowadays, the large number of shunt active power filters (SAPF) is installed in many grid networks to eliminate the source currents harmonics and enhance power quality. These filters are installed in different places according to the filtration requirements. The connection between SAPF and grid network has a negative effect during the open-circuit fault of the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) switch of the SAPF. This paper proposes the application of the new diagnostic method based on the trigonometric circle and mean value variations techniques to the early detection and precise location of the open-circuit fault of the IGBT switches, and the inclusion of the modified reconfigurable inverter topology to allow the perfect continuity of the filter currents, and improve the diagnostic of the open-circuit fault. A single-sided amplitude spectrum technique (SSAS) is applied on the source currents to get the THDi% value. The obtained simulation results prove, the great success of the proposed diagnostic method, the ability of the modified reconfigurable inverter to be adapted to the grid network, the short response time between the diagnosis and the reconfiguration process is about 7 ms which is very sufficient to guarantee the rapid continuity of the shunt active power filter.</span></p>

Field Stop (FS) Type IGBT Transient Temperature Characteristics: E-Thermal Simulation Approach

This research presents an electro-thermal simulation method for analyzing the transient temperature characteristics of Field Stop (FS) type Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs). The method combines IGBT working principles and semiconductor physical principles to investigate the influence of internal excess carrier lifetime on the IGBT's transient temperature behavior. By conducting actual tests on an FS type IGBT switching transient working process, the research establishes an electro-thermal simulation method with improved accuracy and simplified parameter calculation.

In Situ Diagnosis of Multichip IGBT Module Wire Bonding Faults Based on Collector Voltage Undershoot

Condition monitoring of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules is an effective way to improve the transient performance and reliability of modular multilevel converters (MMC). This article proposes a novel bond wire failure monitoring method for the multichip IGBT modules in the MMC half-bridge submodule (SM) structure. The collector voltage undershoot <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">V</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">CA(np)</sub> of the complementary IGBT switch is measured during the turn- <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">off</small> switching transition of the controlled IGBT switch. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">V</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">CA(np)</sub> is sensitive to the induced voltage over the stray inductance of the IGBT bond wires and provides high sensitivity as a health indicator. The non-intrusive measurement technique is demonstrated using a half-bridge circuit during the turn- <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">off</small> transition of the controlled IGBT, while its complementary switch (i.e., the device under test) is in the <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">off</small> state. Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the parametric drift due to wire bonding failures can be effectively monitored with high specific relative sensitivity and granularity. To ensure its effectiveness in practical applications, the influence of load current, SM capacitor voltage, and junction temperature is discussed. In addition, a readout circuit is designed featuring the integrated desaturation detection and voltage peak detection, which offers both the short-term overcurrent fault protection and long-term bond wire aging monitoring functions.

ANN-Aided Data-Driven IGBT Switching Transient Modeling Approach for FPGA-Based Real-Time Simulation of Power Converters

This article develops a novel feedforward neural networks (FFNNs)-based device-level model from a physical insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) model dataset by the proposed artificial neural network (ANN)-aided data-driven IGBT switching transient modeling approach, so that the physics-based IGBT models can be indirectly integrated into field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based real-time simulation of power converters. The main concept is to fit the turn-on/turn-off transient waveforms generated from a physics-based IGBT model by using multiple FFNNs with the same structure but different coefficients. Each FFNN is trained by a dataset covering the transient voltage/current values corresponding to all possible operating conditions at a given discrete time point during a transient. All FFNN coefficients are stored on FPGA. By applying the corresponding FFNN coefficients at each simulation time step, the switching transient waveforms can then be accurately reproduced. The proposed FFNN-based device-level model is designed into two intellectual property (IP) cores at 200 MHz with a fully pipelined structure, which allows the model to authentically reproduce transient waveforms with a 5-ns resolution. A four-phase floating interleaved boost converter (FIBC) is selected as a case study and simulated on a NI-PXIe FlexRIO FPGA real-time platform. The FPGA-based experimental results are compared with that from the LTspice offline simulator, which enables the validation of the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed modeling approach for real-time simulation of power converters.

Temperature distribution in multichip IGBT module and its impact on collector current sharing

Multichip Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) power modules are widely used in high power applications. However, the parallel connection of IGBT chips results in an inhomogeneous temperature/current distribution. In this paper, a thermographic camera is used to capture the temperature distribution of an opened Infineon IGBT module FF600R17ME4 where each IGBT switch has three IGBT chips. The influence of temperature distribution on collector current sharing is then examined in both healthy conditions and bond wire lift-off scenarios. In this research, the critical temperature distribution is demonstrated experimentally at both chip and switch levels. The experimental results reveal that there are, depending on the collector current, 8 °C to 60 °C temperature difference at the chip level and 2 °C to 10 °C maximum temperature variation at the switch level. The severe temperature distribution impacts the collector current sharing less than 1 % variation under healthy conditions and 0.507 % at IC = 240 A upon the first bond wire lift-off. Other findings are that during homogeneous temperature distribution current densities are nearly similar per chip and less dependent on chip temperatures. Findings of this research have the potential to influence multichip Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (mIGBT) layout design. For example, having investigated the current density distribution at different operating points, it is recommended to increase the number of bond wires by 11 % for the chip placed in the middle for this particular module in order to increase reliability. Potential future research areas have also been identified.

Electrothermal Averaged Model of a Diode–IGBT Switch for a Fast Analysis of DC–DC Converters

In this article, an electrothermal model of a diode–insulated gate bipolar transistor switch for modeling dc–dc converters is proposed. The formulated model has the form of a subcircuit for the simulation program with integrated circuits emphasis (SPICE) program and enables computations of both electrical characteristics of the converter and junction temperatures of the semiconductor devices. The equations used in the formulated model allow modeling the operation of the converter in both continuous conduction mode and discontinuous conduction mode. The correctness of the formulated model is experimentally verified for the boost converter. Good accuracy of modeling the characteristics of the converter is obtained. A .cir file based on the formulated model for an analysis in the SPICE program is attached to the article as the active content.

Fast diagnosis strategy for open‐circuit fault of switch devices in open‐winding PMSM system based on voltage error estimation

In the dual inverter topology of open-winding permanent magnet synchronous motor system, due to the symmetry of the topology, switch devices have high similarity in working characteristics, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty in locating faulty devices. In this paper, by analysing the difference of inverter output characteristics before and after switch devices open-circuit fault, the relationship between the inverter output voltage error and fault location is found, and a fault diagnosis strategy is proposed. In this strategy, a construction method of fault phase characteristic current and the estimation equation of inverter output-voltage error are designed. Then, the real-time diagnosis of single device fault and two devices with the same characteristics fault at the same time is realized. Since the strategy proposed in this paper does not need additional voltage sensors, it has the same applicability as the traditional current method. In addition, the diagnosis method based on voltage information reduces the diagnosis time. Besides, this method is independent of the PWM strategy and is not sensitive to the phenomena of dead time and delayed insulated gate bipolar transistors switching. Finally, experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed fault diagnosis strategy.

Semiconductor Losses Calculation of a Quasi-Z-Source Inverter with Dead-Time

A quasi-Z-source inverter (qZSI) belongs to the group of single-stage boost inverters. The input dc voltage is boosted by utilizing an impedance network and so called shoot-through (ST) states. In pulse-width modulations utilized for the qZSI, the dead-time is commonly omitted. However, unintended ST states inevitably occur as a result of this action, due to the non-ideality of the switching devices, causing the unintended voltage boost of the inverter and an increase in the switching losses. Hence, the implementation of the dead-time is desirable with regard to both the controllability and efficiency of the qZSI. This paper deals with the calculation of semiconductor losses of the three- phase qZSI with implemented dead time. An algorithm available in the literature was utilized for that purpose. The algorithm in question was originally proposed and applied for the qZSI with omitted dead-time, where the occurrence of unintended, undetected ST states combined with the errors in the switching energy characteristics of the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) provided by a manufacturer led to errors in the obtained results. However, these errors were unjustifiably ascribed solely to the errors in the switching energy characteristics of the IGBT. In this paper, a new, corrected multiplication factor is experimentally determined and applied to the manufacturer-provided IGBT switching energies. The newly-determined multiplication factor is expectedly lower than the one obtained in the case of omitted dead time. The loss- calculation algorithm with the new multiplication factor was experimentally evaluated for different values of the qZSI input voltage, the duty cycle, and the switching frequency.

Fast Recovery Diodes for High-Current High- Voltage Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors

Silicon Fast Recovery Diodes of 4.5 kV class were produced with diameter of active area between 100 and 150 mm. Wide Safe Operation Area is experimentally demonstrated with IGBT operated at di/dt above 4 kA/ <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> for which diode recovery losses and peak power show decreasing trend above the diode average rating current of 5 kA, which is half of Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) short circuit current. The role of IGBT switch and diode design on the robustness enhanced by increased diode area, is explained. The experimental results are confirmed by device simulation (TCAD).

Open-circuit faults diagnosis and Fault-Tolerant Control scheme based on Sliding-Mode Observer for DFIG back-to-back converters: Wind turbine applications

One of the most common types of wind turbines is the Doubly-Fed Induction Generator with a back-to-back converter. The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor switch’s open-circuit fault rate compared to the fault total rate in the wind turbine is noteworthy. The converter Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor open-circuit causes a drawback in output current and as a result, the production performance of the turbine is reduced. In this article, a new method is presented for multiple Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor open-circuit faults for open-circuit faults diagnosis. After the fault occurs, to maintain the performance of the turbine, fault compensation is performed based on the new Fault-Tolerant Control scheme. The proposed method is inexpensive, and for fault detection and location determining no need for additional sensors and hardware. This method uses residual output based on the Sliding Mode Observer with SAT function to detect faulty phase and overcome chattering Doubly-Fed Induction Generator converter. To residual evaluate and reduce the false alarm rate against changes in operating points and transient currents, the adaptive threshold is used. For efficient control of active or reactive power and dc-link voltage, a six-leg converter control based on Simplified Space Pulse Width Modulation is replaced by a five-leg converter based on Space Vector Modulation. Several experimental results using hardware in the loop Doubly-Fed Induction Generator test setup with a back-to-back converter are presented. It is shown the fault diagnostic algorithm is effective and robust against false alarms for both rotor and stator-side converters. The experimental result presents that the Fault Tolerant Control scheme can make power switch fault easily managed by the hardware reconfiguration and new control strategy adjusting.

Performance of a vertical wind turbine with permanent magnet synchronous generator

The performance of a wind energy conversion system based on a vertical axis wind turbine and a permanent magnet synchronous generator was evaluated in a computational study. A power point tracking approach was used to determine the maximum output power from the system. The technique used in the study utilised the voltage and current from the generator as inputs to generate a reference voltage, which was then compared with the direct current output voltage obtained at the load resistor. A proportional integral controller was used to tune the error between the reference and output voltage. The generated output was then compared with a pulse generator before being fed to the insulated-gate bipolar transistor switch as a pulse width modulation signal. In the software, a system model was designed, and its simulation analysis was done. The input parameters for the wind turbines, generator and boost converters were selected to achieve optimal output in terms of voltage, current, power, rotor speed, power coefficient, electromagnetic torque and mechanical torque. The computational results of the simulated wind energy conversion system were gathered and its performance examined.

Reduction of total harmonic distortion of three-phase inverter using alternate switching strategy

Alternating current (AC) electrical drives mainly require smaller current (or torque) ripples and lower total harmonic distortion (THD) of voltage for excellent drive performances. Normally, in practice, to achieve these requirements, the inverter needs to be operated at high switching frequency. By operating at high switching frequency, the size of filter can be reduced. However, the inverter which oftenly employs insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) for high power applications cannot be operated at high switching frequency. This is because, the IGBT switching frequency cannot be operated above 50 kHz due to its thermal restrictions. This paper proposes an alternate switching strategy to enable the use of IGBT for operating the inverter at high switching frequency to improve THD performances. In this strategy, each IGBT in a group of switches in the modified inverter circuit will operate the switching frequency at one-fourth of the inverter switching frequency. The alternate switching is implemented using simple analog and digital integrated circuits.

Modelling and solving of IGBT's transient analysis model based on the finite state machine

AbstractTo accurately obtain the switching characteristics of insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT), this paper proposes an IGBT's transient analysis model (TAM) based on the finite state machine (FSM). Firstly, the IGBT switching process in the basic converter unit is segmented in the time domain, and the circuit equations among the variables are obtained based on Kirchhoff's law. Then, the switching mechanism and parameters of the IGBT are decoupled based on time segmentation, and clarifying state equations and the transition events for each stage. Subsequently, all the stages and events are modeled in an FSM, thus establishing the IGBT's TAM, and it was realized the Stateflow toolbox of Matlab/Simulink. Finally, some experiments were performed on IGBTs with different current and voltage. The results show that the TAM can accurately describe the switching characteristics of IGBT and is suitable for different voltage and current levels.

An IGBT-Based High-Voltage Crowbar for Minimizing the Fault Current Interruption Time and Injected Fault Energy During the Vacuum Arc Fault in Microwave Tubes

In conventional high-voltage power supplies used for driving the microwave tubes, the shunt crowbar, which generally consists of series-connected thyristors, protects the microwave tube against the vacuum arc fault. In the case of arc fault, the thyristor-based crowbar is closed as a parallel path and diverts the fault current through itself. It avoids serious damage to the microwave tube. However, thyristor switches usually have a limited rate of rise of ON-state current (di/dt), which necessitates placing a series inductor in the crowbar path. Thus, satisfying all protection limits of microwave tubes-including the injected fault energy and the fault current interruption time-is a challenging task for the thyristor-based crowbar. In this article, an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)-based crowbar is employed to overcome this problem. Taking the advantages of IGBT switches, the proposed crowbar satisfies all the protection limits of the microwave tubes. Theoretical analysis, simulation studies, and experimental tests are utilized to compare the crowbar performance in the presence of the conventional crowbar and the IGBT-based crowbar.

Research on Electro-thermal Model Simulation of IGBT Switching Transient

The electro-thermal model of Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor(IGBT) can be used to simulate the operating characteristics of devices at different temperatures. Considering the relationship between internal parameters, semiconductor physical constants and temperature, the electrical model of IGBT at a single temperature is extended to an electro-thermal model which can reflect the working characteristics at different temperatures. This model takes into account both simulation accuracy and simulation speed. Finally, the IGB model is selected, and the IGBT switching transient at different temperatures is verified by experiments.

A Series Stacked IGBT Switch to Be Used as a Fault Current Limiter in HV High-Power Supplies

The safe operating condition for the vacuum tubes is very important and critical since they are very expensive and delicate. Providing limited short circuit energy for the vacuum tube and fast transferring from the short circuit to the nominal operation state are absolutely necessary. Extant protection strategies threat the availability of the vacuum tubes. In addition, they cannot completely protect the tube due to the delay of the fault detection system. This article proposes a high voltage (HV) short circuit fault current limiter which can limit the short circuit energy of the system inherently. The proposed structure activates automatically when the current exceeds the predetermined value. Hence, the need for the fault detection unit is minimized. The proposed short circuit fault current limiter is based on the series insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). Due to the interesting current limiting feature of the IGBTs, the short circuit current is limited for a definite time. During this time interval, the vacuum arc interrupts and the tube can operate instantaneously. In order to provide a safe operating condition of the series-connected IGBTs in the short circuit fault, several external circuits are suggested. The proper operation of the proposed short circuit fault current limiter is evaluated using simulations and experimental prototyping.