Semiconductor Switches Research Articles

A novel eight-switch nine-level modified ANPC inverter topology and its optimal modulation strategy

An eight-switch nine-level modified ANPC inverter (8S-9L-MANPC) is designed and simulated in this paper. With this topology, only one DC voltage source and eight active semiconductor switches are required, significantly reducing system size, weight, and cost. The structure consists of a five-level ANPC inverter cascaded with a two-level leg converter. This arrangement extends the 5L-ANPC structure to a 9L configuration without requiring the use of additional capacitors. To maintain the balancing of the flying capacitor (FC), a modulation strategy using a switching state redundancy-based control method is employed. Recent 9L inverters incorporating flying capacitors and based on a hybrid structure have been compared with the proposed structure. By conducting this comparison, we can highlight the potential improvements offered by the proposed structure over the recent 9L inverters in terms of reduced component count, simplified design, and cost savings. The proposed 8S-9L-MANPC inverter is tested under various operating situations in MATLAB/Simulink simulation.

Research on a Thirteen-Level Switched Capacitor Inverter with Low Switching Loss

This paper presents a 13-level switched capacitor inverter with a novel modulation method designed to minimize the number of switches and significantly reduce switching losses. The inverter stands out for its simplicity, requiring only ten semiconductor switches to generate 13 levels. A key feature is the inherent self-voltage balancing of the capacitors, which eliminates the need for additional control mechanisms. The inverter’s unique architecture, comprising high-voltage and low-voltage modules, enables modulation using a hybrid PWM approach that combines step waveform modulation with level-shifted PWM (LS-PWM). This innovative technique dramatically lowers the switching frequency of the high-voltage module’s switches, independent of the carrier frequency, thereby limiting the number of switches in high-frequency operation and achieving substantial reductions in switching losses. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the inverter’s operating modes, voltage-balancing mechanisms, and parameter calculations. The advantages of the topology presented in this paper are demonstrated by comparison. Finally, the simulation and experimental results confirm the practicality and effectiveness of the proposed inverter and its modulation strategy.

A Non-Linear Control Technique for Single Phase qZSI

Quasi-Z-source inverters, or qZSIs, are a common type of inverter used in transformer-less systems because they can boost or buck input voltage without a requirement for a DC- DC converter. A transformer is not necessary for the qZSI's single-stage conversion to operate as a grid-tie converter. In transformer-less designs common mode current is the major problem, though, because there is no galvanic isolation. To reduce the common mode current, this article offers controlling the qZSI using a modified pulse width modulation (PWM) approach two additional semiconductor switches. The developed methodology provides a practical means of integrating solar photovoltaic systems into the grid. what the recommended topology's attributes should be: 1)It uses the phase-leg shoot through to boost the direct current and voltage to required level by eliminating the need for a second dc-dc converter. 2) Freewheeling is achieved while removing PWM deadtime by employing extra linked switches.

Optimal Design and Analysis of High-Frequency Isolation Transformer for Switched-Mode Power Converters

High-frequency (HF) transformers have gained great interest in recent years due to the advent of powerful soft magnetic materials with low core loss in semiconductor power switches. Also, the optimal design of the HF transformer is a significant issue for high-performance energy conversion systems. In this paper, a 40W 50/12.5/25 V universal input and two output discontinuous-conduction mode (DCM) flyback transformer is designed by using mathematical calculations and analyzed via 3D ANSYS/Maxwell simulation including electromagnetic and loss analysis. It is shown that the simulation results accounting for hysteresis losses, eddy current losses, copper losses, and magnetic flux density determine the accuracy of the mathematical model calculation. Analyzes are performed at 100 kHz frequency levels. Results obtained will include core magnetic flux density, core/copper losses, leakage/magnetizing inductances, windings parasitic capacitances, input/output voltage, current values, and all design parameters. Finally, the proposed HF transformer's overall efficiency is calculated and presented. Significantly, the HF transformer achieves 97.8% efficiency thanks to the transformer's core and coil selection, B-H and B-P characteristics, one-to-one dimension design, and mesh operation. The dynamic and mathematical results of the designed transformer demonstrate the design and efficiency success

A Noninvasive Sliding Mode Observer Based Approach for Detecting Open-Circuit Faults in HERIC Inverters

This article presents a new technique for detecting and localizing the open-circuit (OC) faults in the semiconductor switches of the Highly Efficient and Reliable Inverter Concept (HERIC) converter. It is a transformerless Photovoltaic (PV) inverter based on the full-bridge topology, with two extra switches on the AC side called ac bypass switches. The proposed method uses a sliding mode observer (SMO) to detect faults in the AC bypass switch and main switches of the full bridge inverter. To diagnose OC faults in the AC bypass leg, two parallel SMOs are created based on the converter’s state space model. Similarly, two SMOs are designed for the main switches. A residual is generated by combining the observed and measured grid currents to accurately locate the OC fault within the inverter system. To localize the faulty main switch, once the fault is detected the inverter is reconfigured and based on the grid current the faulty switch is identified. A major benefit of this method is that it does not rely on additional sensors for fault diagnosis, making the system more robust. The effectiveness and reliability of this approach are demonstrated through simulation studies. In addition, a laboratory prototype is developed to validate the practical applicability of the method.

Properties Investigation and Damage Analysis of GaN Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch Based on SiC Substrate.

The GaN photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSSs) with low leakage current and large on-state current are suitable for several applications, including fast switching and high-power electromagnetic pulse equipment. This paper demonstrates a high-power GaN lateral PCSS device. An output peak current of 142.2 A is reached with an input voltage of 10.28 kV when the GaN lateral PCSS is intrinsically triggered. In addition, the method of retaining the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure between electrodes on PCSSs is proposed, which results in increasing the output peak current of the PCSS. The damage mechanism of the PCSS caused by a high electric field and high excitation laser energy is analyzed. The obtained results show that the high heat generated by the large current leads to the decomposition of GaN, and thus, the Ga forms a metal conductive path, resulting in the failure of the device.

Analysis of carrier dynamics and thermal effect of the GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch in lock-on mode

Abstract The lock-on effect of the gallium arsenide photoconductive semiconductor switch (GaAs PCSS) at repetition rate aggravates the current crowding and electric field distortion, which significantly increases the risk of switch damage or even failure. Therefore, it is of great significance to investigate the carrier transport and the heat generation mechanism for improving the performance and longevity of GaAs PCSS in lock-on mode. The internal physical process of an opposed-electrode GaAs PCSS at low optical energy and strong electric field is analysed and discussed by experiment and simulation. A device-circuit hybrid simulation is employed to investigate the transient electric field, carrier concentration, and lattice temperature distribution within the GaAs PCSS in lock-on mode. The device temperature exhibits a positive correlation with the applied bias electric field, resulting in a peak temperature of 1037.25 K at an electric field of 38 kV/cm. The temperature distribution within the GaAs PCSS indicates a greater possibility for thermal breakdown and damage near the electrodes.

Induction Coil Design Considerations for High-Frequency Domestic Cooktops

The use of wide band gap (WBG) semiconductor switches in power converters is increasing day by day due to their superior chemical and physical properties, such as electrical field strength, drift speed, and thermal conductivity. These new-generation power switches offer advantages over traditional induction cooker systems, such as fast and environmentally friendly heating. The size of passive components can be reduced, and the decreasing inductance value of induction coils and capacitors with low ESR (equivalent series resistance) values contributes to total efficiency. Other design parameters, such as passive components with lower values, heatsinks with low volumes, cooling fans with low power, and induction coils with fewer turns, can offset the cost of WBG power devices. High-frequency operation can also be effective in heating non-ferromagnetic materials like aluminum and copper, making them suitable for heating these types of pans without complex induction coil and power converter designs. However, the use of these new generation power switches necessitates a re-examination of induction coil design. High switching frequency leads to a high resonance frequency in the power converter, which requires lower-value passive components compared to conventional cookers. The most important component is the induction coil, which requires fewer turns and magnetic cores. This study examines the induction heating equivalent circuit, discusses the general structure and design parameters of the induction coil, and performs FEM (finite element method) analyses using Ansys Maxwell. The results show that the induction coil inductance value in new-generation cookers decreases by 80% compared to traditional cookers, and the number of windings and magnetic cores decreases by 50%. These analyses, performed for high-power applications, are also performed for low-power applications. While the inductance value of the induction coil is 90 μH at low frequencies, it is reduced to the range of 5 μH to 20 μH at high frequencies. The number of windings is reduced by half or a quarter. The new-generation cooker system experimentally verifies the coil design based on the parameters derived from the analysis.

Machine learning based fault detection technique for hybrid multi level inverter topology

AbstractMultilevel inverters (MLIs) have a significant contribution in many industrial sectors due to their improved power quality and lesser voltage stress, over the conventional three‐level inverters. However, the implementation of MLIs with an increased device count creates the scope of development in MLIs topologies. In this regard, a hybrid MLI topology is studied in this paper whose architecture is based on conventional two‐level inverters. This topology has lesser device count characteristics when compared to conventional and most of the recently presented configurations for nine‐level output voltage generation. The major issue of capacitor voltage balancing is resolved by employing an appropriate switching strategy. However, the semiconductor switches are the most vulnerable components and causes the open circuit faults frequently that creates issues in real time operation. Hence, it is important to detect the open circuit fault in switches in the least possible time. A new approach to open circuit fault detection technique based on the analysis of load voltage waveform is proposed in this paper. The wavelet transform technique has been implemented for feature extraction of load voltage. Later, the classification of the fault has been achieved by training an artificial neural network (ANN). The proposed work has been studied in MATLAB/simulation and the obtained results are verified experimentally.

Modelling and Simulation of Crisscross Switched Multilevel Inverter Using Cascaded Semi-Half-Bridge Cells

A new cascaded multilevel inverter (MLI) is presented. This MLI aims to use a lesser number of switches, achieve better modularity, and reduce voltage stress. The new structure can operate in symmetric and asymmetric modes, producing all odd and even voltage levels. It comprises semi-half-bridge cells connected in series with crisscross switches to generate target voltage levels for synthesizing the sinusoidal output waveform. An extended version of the proposed MLI topology cascades sub-inverters to generate more voltage levels with reduced standing voltage. Compared to the cascading H-bridge topology, the proposed MLI and its extended version use fewer semiconductor switches. The MATLAB R2013b-based simulation results, confirm the efficacy of the proposed MLI topology.

Enhanced Durability of High-Power Avalanche GaAs Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch Utilizing Advanced Double-Sided Cooling Configuration

Enhanced Durability of High-Power Avalanche GaAs Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch Utilizing Advanced Double-Sided Cooling Configuration

Comparison of the performance of Si, SiC, and GaN based switching elements in high gain DC-DC boost converter

Abstract In this study, Si, SiC, and GaN based semiconductor switching elements to be used in the design of new generation high gain DC-DC converters are compared. Each switching element is tested at different frequencies and different pulse period ratios. The efficiency and output voltage of the high gain boost converter are analyzed in detail according to the switching element used. The amplifiers have been investigated at 50 kHz and 5 MHz switching frequencies. The results show that the converter using GaN-based MOSFET is more efficient than converters using other MOSFETs and reaches the highest efficiency at 200 kHz switching frequency. The proposed converter achieves 91.68% efficiency and 2.66 voltage gain at 0.3 pulse period rate, 94% efficiency and 3.78 voltage gain at 0.5 pulse period rate and 93.94% efficiency, and 6.33 voltage gain at 0.7 pulse period rate. Thus, it is understood that when GaN based MOSFETs are used in high gain DC-DC converters, higher gain and higher efficiency are achieved.

Capacitor voltage balancing, capacitance monitoring, and fast fault detection in a nested neutral point clamped (NNPC) converter with the reduced number of sensors

In multilevel converters (MCs), system components such as capacitors and semiconductor switches are very susceptible to damage. Furthermore, utilizing voltage sensors to balance capacitor voltages increases the system's cost and complexity while decreasing reliability. This paper presents methods for voltage balancing of capacitors, capacitance monitoring and open-circuit fault detection in nested neutral point-clamped (NNPC) converter with a reduced number of voltage and current sensors. In the proposed method, converter capacitors' voltage and current sensors are eliminated, and only the output sensors are employed to control the converter. In order to balance the voltage of capacitors, their voltages are estimated in three cases without using individual sensors. Comparing the capacitors' measured and estimated voltage change ratios is used to assess their health in the monitoring method. Thus, the capacitors' status can be checked by considering the system's health indicator during each period. Furthermore, the open-circuit fault detection method can identify defective switches within one processing cycle by comparing the converter's measured and standard output voltages in all switching states. The proposed methods have been evaluated in an experimental study of the system, and the results confirmed the effectiveness of the methods based on the new system configuration.© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

State Space Average Modeling, Small Signal Analysis, and Control Implementation of an Efficient Single-Switch High-Gain Multicell Boost DC-DC Converter with Low Voltage Stress

This paper presents the closed-loop control of a single-switch high-gain multicell boost DC-DC converter working in a continuous conduction mode (CCM). This converter is particularly designed for applications in photovoltaic systems. One of the main advantages of the proposed converter is that it only employs one active semiconductor switch, which decreases the converter losses and cost, increases the efficiency, and simplifies the control circuit. Moreover, the multicell nature of the proposed converter offers the possibility of obtaining the required voltage gain by selecting the number of cells. State space average (SSA) modeling and small-signal analysis are used to model the switching converter power stages of the proposed converter. The parasitic series resistances of the passive elements of the converter circuit are considered to improve the accuracy of the modeling. Small-signal analysis is used to derive the open-loop transfer functions, input-to-output and control-to-output transfer functions of the proposed converter to examine its dynamic performance. The stability of the converter is analyzed to design the parameters of the voltage controller using the proposed modeling method. The experimental prototype of the proposed single-switch two-cell boost DC-DC converter was implemented. The simulation and experimental results proved the effectiveness of the proposed boost DC-DC converter under different working conditions. It has a fast dynamic response without overshoots. A comprehensive comparison between the proposed converter and previous boost converters is provided. It guarantees a required variable and constant high voltage gain with a wider duty ratio range. It compromises between the required performance, the low number of components, low voltage stress on the components, and cost-effectiveness. The experimental efficiency of the proposed converter is about 96% at a 100 W load.

Light Dependent Negative Differential Resistance and Resistive Switching in Oxide Semiconductors

Light Dependent Negative Differential Resistance and Resistive Switching in Oxide Semiconductors

Physics-Based Artificial Neural Network Assisting in Extracting Transient Properties of Extrinsically Triggering Photoconductive Semiconductor Switches.

In this paper, a physics-based ANN assisting method for extracting transient properties of extrinsically triggering photoconductive semiconductor switches (ET-PCSSs) is proposed. It exploits the nonlinear mapping of ANN between transient current (input) and doping concentration (output). According to the basic laws of photoelectric device operating, two types of ANN models are constructed by gaussian and polynomial fitting. The mean absolute error (MAE) of forecasting transient photocurrent can be less than 10 A under low triggering optical powers, which verifies the feasibility of ANN assisting TCAD applied to PCSSs. The results are comparable to computation by Mixed-Mode simulation, yet even thousands of seconds of CPU runtime cost are saved in every period. To improve the robustness of the Poly-ANN predictor, Bayesian optimization (BO) is implemented for minimizing the curl deviation of photocurrent-time curves.

Buck–Boost DC–AC converter based on coupled inductors

In this paper, a single stage buck–boost DC–AC converter based on coupled inductors is presented for renewable energy and electric vehicle applications. The proposed topology works with only three semiconductor switches, two diodes, and three coupled inductors to transfer input DC voltage to a high gain or low gain output AC voltage. A coupled inductor is used instead of normal inductors, which will reduce core and size requirements. The sinusoidal pulse width modulation strategy is used in this paper for controlling the main switch. There are many merits in the presented topology, like high gain up to five times of input voltage, compact size, less number of components, which results in reducing the overall cost, reducing switching loss, and increasing the converter efficiency. The simulation study is carried out using MATLAB/SIMULINK to simulate the operation of the proposed converter. Also, an experimental setup is built up to examine the actual operation of the proposed converter. There is a good agreement between simulation and experimental results which increases the validation and confidence of the model.

Performance Investigation of 17 Level Reduced Switch Count Multilevel Inverter

The primary objective of this paper is to introduce a 17-level multilevel inverter with only eight power switches and three diodes that can be suitable for electric vehicle applications. This setup utilizes three distinct unequal DC sources to create the 17 levels of output voltage waveforms. The modes of operations of the proposed topology have been discussed in detail. The calculation of conduction losses, switching losses, efficiency, total standing voltage, and cost function per level for the suggested inverter has been elaborated. Due to more semiconductor power switches, diodes, capacitors, driver circuits, and DC sources in typical inverters, switching losses, costs, and harmonic distortion are increased. The nearest-level control technique has been utilized to control the switching elements of the recommended configuration. The performance comparison of various multilevel inverter topologies has also been discussed. The suggested multilevel inverter provides a higher efficiency of 98.60%, cost function of 3.6 for a weight coefficient of 1, improved power quality, and higher reliability. A reduction in the power switches significantly reduces the convolution of switching circuitry. The total harmonic distortion produced by this inverter is 3.49%, which comes under the IEEE standard of 5%.

Predictive Controller Strategies for Electrical Drives System using Inverter System

Advanced control strategies in power electronics include Predictive controller of current (P CURRENT CONTROL) and Predictive controller of torque (P TORQUE CONTROL). In order to operate a SRM or an induction machine, the Predictive controller of torque (P TORQUE CONTROL) approach analyses the stator flux and electromagnetic torque in the cost function (IM), and the Predictive controller of current (P CURRENT CONTROL) method [1,2] takes errors between the current reference and the measured current into account in the cost function. The switching vector selected for usage in IGBTs reduces the error between the references and the predicted values. The system restrictions are easy to include [4, 5]. The weighting component is not required. Together with the P TORQUE CONTROL and P CURRENT CONTROL systems, the SRM method is the most practicable direct control technique since it doesn't require a modulator and offers 10% to 30% more power than an induction motor [3]. With the same current, an induction motor can only generate between 70 and 90 percent of the force generated by an SRM due to its lagging power factor. SRM approach decreases 23% more THD in torque, speed, and stator current when P CURRENT CONTROL and P TORQUE CONTROL method with 15-level H-bridge multilevel inverter is compared to P CURRENT CONTROL and P TORQUE CONTROL method with 15-level H-bridge multilevel inverter utilising induction motor [21]. The transistors are only swapped when necessary to maintain the limits of torque and flux, which minimises switching losses. To improve the efficiency of a multilevel inverter, semiconductor switches are switched in a specific pattern. In contrast to the P TORQUE CONTROL and P CURRENT CONTROL approaches using a 2-level voltage source inverter, the 15-level H-bridge multilevel inverter employed in this study, coupled with SRM and IM, gives outstanding torque and flux responses and achieves robust and stable operation. This unique strategy quickly caught the interest of academics due to its simple algorithm and high performances in both steady and transient modes [8].

Novel chattering free binomial hyperbolic sliding mode controller for asymmetric cascaded E-type bonded T-type multilevel inverter-based dynamic voltage restorer to meliorate FRT capability of DFIG-based wind turbine

The endurance capability of Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG)-based wind turbine to network against different disturbances is an important criterion to meet the recent grid codes requirements. This generator has to provide the required energy under the perturbation conditions which is principally specified by Fault Ride-Through (FRT) capability. It refers to safe and continuous operation of DFIG without interruption which has been performed by Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR) using fast and accurate compensation of the voltage fluctuations. This paper aims to introduce an innovative quasi-sinusoidal voltage synthesizer for DVR to enhance the power quality and power delivery. Hence, a new Asymmetric Cascaded E-type Bonded T-type Multilevel Inverter (ACEBTMI) with binary geometric progression form of DC sources is proposed to provide high-step staircase sinusoidal voltage containing low semiconductor switches. Then, accurate triggering signals for the suggested ACEBTMI corresponding to the voltage fluctuations have been provided by new Chattering Free Binomial Hyperbolic Sliding Mode Controller (CFBHSMC). To validate compensation capability of the proposed DVR, ACEBTMI part has been compared with some traditional and familiar multilevel inverters, and also CFBHSMC part has been compared with SMC, FLC and PID controllers. In precise, the simulation results have definitely confirmed the accurate tracking and robust control performance of CFBHSMC to support ACEBTMI-based DVR which enables DFIG to ride-through different voltage perturbations.