ABB Corporate Research, ABB Semiconductors AG, ABB Industrie AG

IGCTs In Soft Switching Power Converters

IGCTs in Soft Switching Power Converters

Steffen Bernet ABB Corporate Research Speyerer Strasse 4 D-69115 Heidelberg Germany steffen.bernet@decrc.abb.de Matthias Lscher ABB Semiconductors Tu 4 CH-5300 Turgi Switzerland matthias.luescher @chind.mail.abb.com Peter K. Steimer ABB Industrie IA-T CH-5300 Turgi Switzerland peter.steimer @chind.mail.abb.com

Keywords
Semiconductor devices, Soft switching, ZVS converter, ZCS converter

Abstract
This paper investigates the behavior of Integrated Gate Commutated Thyristors (IGCTs) at soft switching. Initially soft switching Voltage Source Inverters are presented which are promising candidates for high power industrial or traction applications (S500kVA). A test circuit is derived, which enables an experimental investigation of 51mm (4500V; 650A) reverse conducting IGCTs as Zero Voltage Switch, Zero Current Switch and at hard switching. The occurring IGCT and diode switching transients are analyzed and measured switching losses are discussed. Additionally the impact of soft switching on the gate drive is considered. The results achieved enable a first evaluation of the potential of IGCTs at soft switching.

Introduction
The development of new high power semiconductors such as 3.3 to 4.5kV Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) (e.g. [1], [2], [3]) and 4.5 to 5.5kV Integrated Gate Commutated Thyristors (IGCTs) (e.g. [4], [5], [6]) pushed the development of snubberless Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) Voltage Source Coverters (VSC) in medium voltage applications. Depending on the direction of the flow of energy these converters possess a passive front end (Structure of topology: diode bridge-dc voltage link-PWM Voltage Source Inverter (VSI)) or an active front end (Structure of topology: PWM Voltage Source Rectifier (VSR)-dc voltage link- PWM VSI) [7], [8]. Meanwhile these converters, ranging from 0.5MVA to 10MVA, are becoming price competitive against conventional three-phase rectifiers and cycloconverters on the basis of conventional thyristors. Advantages of PWM-VSCs with active front end like reduced line harmonics, a better power factor and a higher system efficiency enable a cost reduction of the system in different applications like for instance rolling mills and high voltage DC transmission. Despite a price reduction of Gate Turn Off thyristors (GTOs) by a factor of two to three over the last five years [9] also conventional GTO Voltage Source Inverters and Current Source Inverters (CSI) are increasingly replaced by PWM VSIs on the basis of IGCTs and IGBTs due to expensive and bulky snubber circuits as well as the complex gate drive of conventional GTOs. A detailed comparison of a (3300V; 1200A) IGBT module and (4500V; 1560A/3120A) IGCTs in a 1.14MVA PWMinverter showed, that the considered IGBT offers interesting features like active control of dv/dt and di/dt, active clamping, short circuit current limitation, and active
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protection [10]. However, in comparison to IGCTs especially the higher on-state and total losses, a substantially smaller utilization of the active silicon area, an open circuit after destruction, and reliability concerns are disadvantageous characteristics of currently available high voltage IGBT modules. Low total losses at current densities which are about 1.5-2.9 times higher than in up to date high voltage IGBT modules, a small part count of the Gate Commutated Thyristor (GCT), the reliable press pack in a compact mechanical arrangement which can be easily assembled enable the design of low cost, compact, reliable, highly efficient, and 100% explosion free IGCT converters [6], [10]. A further reduction of the size, weight and costs of passive components (e.g. output filters in medium voltage drives) and an improvement of the static and dynamic characteristics of medium voltage converters requires the increase of the switching frequency which is limited in up to date IGCT converters to about 1kHz by the occurring switching losses. However, the switching frequency of IGCTs can be increased substantially, if IGCTs are used as Zero Voltage Switches (ZVS) and Zero Current Switches (ZCS) in soft switching topologies respectively. Since IGCTs are designed, tested and specified for the snubberless hard switching operation and the behavior of IGCTs at soft switching has not been investigated yet, this paper discusses the behavior of IGCTs as ZVS and ZCS. Initially advantageous soft switching VSIs are presented which are promising candidates for high power industrial or traction applications (S500kVA). A test circuit is derived, which enables an experimental investigation of 51mm (4500V; 650A) reverse conducting (RC) IGCTs in different soft switching topologies and at hard switching. The behavior of IGCTs as ZVS and ZCS is analyzed and described in detail for different operating ranges and test
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IGCTs In Soft Switching Power Converters

conditions. The impact of soft switching on the gate drive is discussed. The results achieved enable a first evaluation of the potential of IGCTs at soft switching.

Soft Switching Voltage Source Inverters

In the last years a large number of diverse soft switching three-phase VSIs, CSIs or matrix converters have been proposed in the literature (e.g. [12], [13], [14], [15], [16]). All soft switching topologies require additional active and/or passive components to create conditions of zero voltage switching and/or zero current switching for the main switches. In general additional components increase costs and complexity and reduce reliability. Up to now these disadvantages have outweighed the advantages of soft switching converters like lower total losses, a higher utilization of the power semiconductors, reduced size and weight of filters due to an increase of the switching frequency and reduced noises in basically all high power forced commutated converters. The main requirement for an attractive soft switching converter is therefore a low additional expense of active and passive components. Considering high power VSIs both the limited switching frequency of some kHz even at soft switching and the excellent characteristics of available control schemes for different loads (e.g. induction and synchronous machines) require additionally the use of PWM and/or space vector control schemes. The attraction of a soft switching VSI increases essentially, if the VSI limits the steepness of its voltage slopes to about dv/dt Inv10001500V/s avoiding the use of additional output filters to protect the insulation of the connected interface cables, motors or transformers. Two interesting soft switching VSIs for high power applications are depicted in the figures 1 and 2.
Lr Sr Sl1 Sl3 Sl5 v01 i01 v02 i02 Vdc SC v03 i03 vl1 vl2 vl3

the possibility to apply PWM- or space vector control schemes, the use of a resonant inductor between inverter and dc link capacitor, which can be used to limit the short circuit current of an IGCT VSI, the limitation of the dv/dt at the inverter output and the posssible extension of the operating principle to three-level neutral point clamped VSIs (3L-NPC VSI). Disadvantages are: the fact, that the auxiliary switches have a 6 times higher switching frequency compared to the main switches since the decoupling network is used at every commutation of the main switches, the resulting high switching losses in the auxiliary network, the difficult design of the resonant inductor since the inductor has to be designed for the sum of load and resonant current at stationary operation and the short circuit current in the failure mode respectively and the slightly increased control complexity. The Auxiliary Resonant Commutated Pole Voltage Source Inverter (ARCPVSI), depicted in Fig. 2, is one of the best suited topologies for high power applications (e.g. [11], [22]).
Sl1 VDC/2 SAS1 SAS2 SAS3 Lr1 Lr2 Lr3 Sl2 VDC/2 Cr2 Cr4 Cr6 Sl4 Sl6 Cr1 Sl3 Cr3 Sl5 Cr5
vo1 vo2 vo3 io1 io2 io3 vl1 vl2

vl3

Fig. 2:

Circuit configuration of an Auxiliary Commutated Pole Voltage Source Inverter (ARCPVSI)

CC

Cr Sl2

Sl4

Sl6

Fig. 1:

Circuit configuration of an Actively Clamped Quasi-Resonant DC link Voltage Source Inverter (ACQRLVSI)

Fig. 1 shows the circuit configuration of an actively clamped quasi-resonant dc link VSI (ACQRLVSI) [16], [17]. The auxiliary decoupling network oscillates the commutation voltage of the inverter to zero before each commutation of the inverter switches. Thus all commutations of the main switches take place at zero voltage and the switching losses are reduced significantly. The switches of the auxiliary network are operated as ZCS and ZVS respectively. The advantages of this soft switching VSI are:
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In contrast to hard switching converters an additional commutation unit, consisting of one bi-directional auxiliary switch and one resonant inductor, per phase and parallel resonant capacitors across the main switches enable zero voltage switching of the main switches and zero current switching of the auxiliary switches. Advantageous characteristics of this inverter are: the possibility to apply any PWM- or space vector control scheme, the decoupled operation of all three inverter phases, the fact, that the auxiliary switches of one phase operate at the same switching frequency as the corresponding main switches of one inverter phase since the auxiliary commutation unit is not applied, when capacitive (forced) commutations with a negative gradient of power take place, the substantial reduction of switching and total losses compared to snubberless operating converters, the possible limitation of the dv/dt at the inverter terminals and the posssible extension of the operating principle to three-level neutral point clamped VSIs.
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IGCTs In Soft Switching Power Converters

Drawbacks are: the relatively high expense of additional active and passive components (three bi-directional switches, three resonant inductors, six resonant capacitors, voltage clamps of the auxiliary branches), the varying dv/dt at the converter output, the increased control complexity and the necessary change of the protection scheme (e.g. to fuses) if IGCTs are applied. Since available IGCT data sheets describe the behavior of IGCTs at snubberless operation only, the investigation of zero voltage switching and zero current switching IGCTs is a necessary condition to evaluate the potential and risks of both soft switching power converters and conventional snubber circuits with IGCTs.

and/or series connected diode and the zero current turn off losses of the active semiconductor when it takes over forward blocking voltage are substantially higher [18], [20], [21]. Considering the fundamental similarity of soft switching transients in different topologies it is obviously sufficient to investigate the fundamental behavior of a semiconductor as ZVS and ZCS in one test circuit. If the adjustable parameters of the test circuit (e.g. commutation voltage, commutation current, resonant elements, hold off time, gate drive conditions) are varied in a sufficient large range, the results achieved can also be used for a first evaluation of the potential of the investigated semiconductors in different soft switching topologies.

Test Circuit for the Investigation of IGCTs as ZVS and ZCS

General Considerations
In contrast to hard switching converters, where the switches carry out inductive (natural) commutations with a positive gradient of power (initiated by an active turn on transient of an IGCT) and capacitive (forced) commutations with a negative gradient of power (initiated by an active turn off transient of an IGCT) alternately, the switches in soft switching converters usually realize continuos inductive (ZCS) or capacitive (ZVS) switching transients [18], [19], [21]. The waveforms of ZVS and ZCS differ from each other in different soft switching topologies, since the necessary pulsation or polarity change of the instantaneous value of the power between two successive soft switching transients is usually realized by different means in different circuits. However, the fundamental stress of both ZVS and ZCS is basically the same in all soft switching power converters [18], [21]. The switching behavior of a ZVS is characterized by a passive turn on transient at zero voltage and an active turn off transient in parallel to a capacitor which limits the dv/dt and therefore the occuring turn off losses. The losses of the zero voltage turn on transient are usually very low. They are determined by the space charge modulation of a diode and/or switch if the gate drive operates properly [20]. The substantial switching losses of the active turn off transients at a given commutation current, commutation voltage, junction temperature and gate drive are basically determined by the value of the parallel capacitors that means the dv/dt across the turning off switches- and the design of the semiconductors [18], [20]. Typical switching transients of ZCS are the active turn on transient in series to an inductor which limits the rate of current rise and therefore the turn on losses, the turn off transient of an inverse or series connected diode during the interruption of the reverse recovery current and the behavior of the active semiconductor, when it is stressed with forward blocking voltage after it turned off at zero current and zero voltage [18], [20], [21]. While the losses of the active turn on transients, caused by the space charge modulation, are usually very low, the reverse recovery losses of the inverse
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Circuit Configuration and Function of the Test Circuit

L /2 V dc/2 Vload L load Lr iload iAS1 SAS2 SAS1 iS2
DC1 DC2 CC DC3 RC DC4

S1 iS1

CS1 iCS1

vS1

iCS2 C S2 vS2

V dc/2

S2

L /2

vAS1

Fig. 3:

ARCP test circuit for the investigation of IGCTs at soft switching

Fig. 3 shows the test circuit applied to investigate the behavior of IGCTs at soft switching. The circuit consists basically of one phase leg of an ARCPVSI [11], [22]. The main switches are operated as ZVS and the auxiliary switch, consisting of the series connection of one reverse conducting IGCT and one diode, is operated as ZCS. The capacitive rectifier consisting of the diodes DC1-DC4, the capacitor CC and the resistor RC operates as voltage clamp to protect the auxiliary switch from overvoltages caused by the interruption of the reverse recovery current of the series diode of SAS1 and the polarity change of the voltage across the auxiliary branch. This clamp is distinctly more efficient than a RC snubber, since the clamp capacitor does not have to be recharged during a polarity change of the voltage across the auxiliary switch SAS1. To enable the investigation of the semiconductors at any desired junction temperature, the circuit was designed to operate in single shot operation.

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vS1, iS1
iS1 vS1 t vS2 t iAS1 tH Vdc/2Zr vAS1

3 kV 2 1 0

IS1

VS1

1.2 kA 0.8 0.4 0

vS2, iS2 irr vAS1, iAS1 iload+irr iload vload, iload iTest
vload iS2

3 kV 2 1

IS2 VS2

1.2 kA 0.8 0.4 0

t iload

0 2 4 Tcap 6 8 10 12 s 16

Fig. 5:

Waveforms of the IGCT-ZVS during the capacitive (forced) commutation

5
vS0

vG1 vG2 vAG1 vAG2

Fig. 4:
Start

active iload=iTest

vS0

is0

vS0

iS0

iS0

The ARCP commutation is completed, when the switch SAS1 turns off at zero current during the interruption of the reverse recovery current of its series diode. The clamp network across the auxiliary switch limits the occurring diode reverse blocking voltage. Fig. 6 shows principle waveforms of the ARCP commutation.
3.0 kV 2.0 1.0 0 3.0 kV 2.0 1.0 0 2.0 kV 1.0 0 -1.0 -2.0 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 s 110 tARCP 1 VS1 IS1 0 0 0 1 IS2 VS2 0 0 0 1 k 1 0 0 -0

Principle waveforms of the ARCP test circuit

Fig. 4 shows the principle waveforms of the circuit configuration. The turn on transient of the switch SAS2 starts the operation. The load current increases until it reaches the desired test value (iload=iTest). Than a capacitive commutation is initiated by an active turn off transient of the switch S1. The load current commutates into the capacitors CS1 and CS2 and recharges them linearly. The capacitive commutation is completed, when the inverse diode of the switch S2 turns on at zero voltage taking over the load current iload. Fig. 5 shows measured waveforms of the capacitive commutation. The current IS2 oscillates only slightly damped due to a resonance between the snubber capacitors and the stray inductances of the snubber and the dc link. Simulations have shown, that these undesired oscillations, which increase the rms current of the capacitors CS (CS=CS1=CS2) can be damped by a small resistance of some 10 m in series to the resonant capacitors CS , if the stray inductances of the parallel connected capacitors and the dc link can be kept small by a proper mechanical arrangement. After this commutation the load current decreases, until the turn on transient of the auxiliary switch SAS1 initiates the ARCP commutation by an active turn on transient. Thus the current iAS1 increases as fast as the absolute value of the current iS2 decreases until the inverse diode of S2 turns off during the interruption of the reverse recovery current. The initiated oscillation between the resonant inductor Lr and the capacitors CS recharges the resonant capacitors until VS2 reaches the dc link voltage and S1 turns on at zero voltage. Since the voltage across the auxiliary branch has changed its polarity during this oscillation, the current iAS1 decreases linearly after the turn on transient of S1.

VAS1

IAS1

Fig 6:

Waveforms of the IGCT-ZVS and the IGCT-ZCS during the ARCP commutation

It should be noticed, that the reverse recovery current of the inverse diode of the switch S2 was always high enough, to enable an oscillation of the voltage VS1 to zero despite the resistive losses of the resonant circuit of the ARCP commutation. Thus an additional boost current of the switch S2 was not required. After an adjustable time interval another capacitive commutation is started by an active turn off transient of the switch S1. Therefore the switch SAS1 is stressed with forward blocking voltage after the hold off time tH (Fig. 4). After this capacitive commutation the load current goes to zero and the single shot test is completed.

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IGCTs In Soft Switching Power Converters

Data of the Test Circuit

The test circuit was designed using the reverse conducting 51mm IGCTs 5SGX0845F0001 (VDRM=4500V, Vdc link=2700V, ITGQM=650A) as switches S1, S2 and SAS1. The 38mm diode 5SDF0345D0006 (VRRM=4500V, Vdc link=2700V, IF=650A ) served as series diode of the switch SAS1. The resonant capacitors CS1 and CS2 were low inductive (Lstray<10nH) metallised polypropylene capacitors (CS: 0.25/ 0.5/1/2 F) and both load and resonant inductor were air coils (Lr: 4/ 7.5 F). The dc link voltage (Vdc: 675V, 1350V, 2700V), the load current (Iload: 163A, 325A, 488A, 650A, 1000A) and the hold off time tH (3stH65s) were varied in a wide range to enable the use of the measured waveforms and losses in different soft switching topologies. The junction temperature of the semiconductors were Tj=25C and Tj=115C respectively.
3.0 kV 2.0 IS 1 1.2 kA 0.8

1.0

0.4

VS1 0 0

2.0 J 1.6 1.2 0.8 0.4

ES1

2.0 MW 1.6 1.2 0.8 0.4

PS1 0 0 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 s 18

Behavior of IGCTs as Zero Voltage Switches

Capacitive Commutation
When the load current reaches the test value (iload=iTest) the active turn off transient of the switch S1 starts the investigated capacitive commutation taking place in time interval 2 of Fig. 4. The commutation is completed by the zero voltage turn on transient of the inverse diode of the switch S2. While the external capacities CS1 and CS2 limit the dv/dt across the switches at soft switching, measurements of snubberless hard switching transients were carried out without the capacities CS1 and CS2 for comparison purposes.

Fig 7:

Waveforms (VS1, IS1) and losses (power: PS1; energy: ES1) of a snubberless hard turn off transient of an ICGT (Vdc = 2.7kV; I load = 650A; Tj = 115C; 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCT;Eoff = 2.1J)

3.5 kV 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0 -0.5 1.0 J 0.8 0.6 PS1 0.4 0.2 0 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 s 18 ES1 IS 1 VS1

1.4 kA 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 -0.2 500 kW 400 300 200 100 0

Active turn off transients

Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 show waveforms and losses of active turn off transients of the considered 51mm 4.5kV IGCTs at snubberless operation (hard switching, CS=0F) and at soft switching (CS=0.5F). Obviously the turn off losses can be reduced by about 50%, if the rate of voltage rise of the turning off switch is limited to about 500V/s. The maximum instantaneous power losses are reduced by a factor of 7 from 1.8MW at snubberless switching (Fig. 7) to 250kW at soft switching (Fig. 8). The measured turn off losses as a function of the commutation current iload for different junction temperatures are to be seen in the figures 9 and 10. Depending on the value of the capacitors CS soft switching transients cause 40%-80% fewer switching losses than the corresponding snubberless turn off transients. The normalized switching losses Eoff/CS>0 / Eoff/CS=0 are 5-10% lower at Tj=25C than at Tj=115C using the same parallel capacitors.

Fig 8:

Waveforms (VS1, IS1) and losses power: PS1; energy: ES1) of a soft (ZVS) turn off transient of an IGCT (Vdc=2.7kV; Iload=650A; Tj=115C; CS=0.5F; 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCT; Eoff=1.05J)

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IGCTs In Soft Switching Power Converters

2.5 0uF 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0.25uF 0.5uF Eoff [J] 1uF 2uF

Fig. 12 shows the turn off losses as a function of the commutation voltage.
2.5
0.0uF

2 Eoff [J] 1.5 1 0.5 0 0

0.5uF 2uF

I load [A]

Fig. 9:

Turn off losses of IGCTs as a function of the commutation current (Vdc=2.7kV; Tj= 25C; 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCT; ZVS and snubberless [CS = 0 F] operation
0uF

500

1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 Vdc [V]

2.5

Fig. 12:

2 1.5 Eoff [J] 1 0.5 0 0

0.25uF 0.5uF 1uF 2uF

Turn off losses of IGCTs as a function of the dc link voltage (Iload=650A; Tj=115C; 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCT; ZVS and snubberless [CS=0F] operation)

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Iload [A]

Fig.10:

Turn off losses of IGCTs as a function of the commutation current (Vdc=2.7kV; Tj=115C; 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCT; ZVS and snubberless [Cs = 0F] operation)

The diagram in Fig. 11 indicates, that even relatively small parallel capacities (CS0.5F) reduce the switching losses compared to the snubberless operation substantially. A further increase of the capacities (0.5FCS2F), causing extensive commutation durations, leads only to a slight further reduction of the switching losses.
2.5 2 1.5 Eoff [J] 1 0.5 0 0 0.5 1 C S [uF]
Fig. 11: Turn off losses of IGCTs as a function of the parallel capacitors CS=CS1=CS2 (Vdc=2.7kV; Tj=115C; 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCT; ZVS and snubberless [CS=0F] operation)

The losses at snubberless operation, where the switch current is equivalent to the load current during the rise of the switch voltage, increase clearly faster with increasing voltage than the losses at soft switching, where the switch current is equivalent to the tail current during the voltage rise of the switch voltage (Fig. 7, Fig. 8). If the tail current goes to zero before the voltage rise is completed, the switching losses become independent of the commutation voltage (CS=2F in Fig. 12). Fig. 13 shows a turn off transient of a 51mm (4500V/650A) RCIGCT at a current of iload=1000A applying parallel capacitors of CS1=CS2=1F (dv/dt=420V/s). Obviously IGCTs can be operated at substantially higher currents in ZVS operation compared to the rated current at snubberless operation, if the gate drive is designed to handle the increased negative gate current during the active turn off transient.
3.5 kV 2.5 2.0 1.5 IS1 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 s 20 VS1 1.4 kA

163A 325A 488A 650A

1.0 0.5 0

Fig. 13:

ZVS turn off waveforms of an IGCT at 154% rated turn off current (Vdc=2.7kV; Iload=1kA; Tj=115C; CS=1F; 51mm 4.5kV; Eoff=1.1J)

1.5

Passive turn on transients at zero voltage

Fig. 14 shows, that the turn on losses caused by the space charge modulation of the turning on inverse diode of S2 are very small and basically independent of the resonant capacitors CS.

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140 0.0 uF 120 100 Eon [m J] 80 60 40 20 0 0 100 200 300 400 I lo ad [A] 500 600 700 0.25 uF 0.5 uF 1.0 uF 2.0 uF

Active turn on transients at zero voltage

When the voltage across the switch S1 reaches zero, the gate unit delivers a positive gate current which turns on the IGCT (Fig. 4, Fig. 6) . Thus the occurring losses are caused by the space charge modulation. Both the losses and the behavior of the IGCT depend on the gate current, the rate of current rise (diS1/dt) and the stationary value of the impressed switch current. The measured turn on losses in Fig. 16 indicate, that the switching losses are basically independent of the value of the capacitors CS.
180 160 140 Eon [m J] 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 0 100 200 300 400 I load [A] 500 600 700 0.5 uF 1.0 uF

Fig 14:

Turn on losses of the IGCT inverse diode as a function of the commutation current (51mm 4.5kV RCIGCT; Vdc=2.7kV; Tj=115C; ZVS and snubberless [CS=0F] operation)

Auxiliary Resonant Commutated Pole Commutation

After time interval 3 with a duration of about 90s in which the diode of the switch S2 reaches its stationary charge distribution, the investigated ARCP commutation takes place in the time intervals 4, 5 and 6 of Fig. 4.

Passive turn off transients

The inverse diode of S2 turns off during the interruption of the reverse recovery current at the end of the time interval 4 (Fig. 4, Fig. 6). The dv/dt and therefore the switching losses of the turning off diode are limited by the occurring oscillation between the resonant inductor Lr and the parallel connection of the capacitors CS1 and CS2. It can be taken from the switching losses depicted in Fig.15, that the switching losses decrease substantially with increasing value of the capacitors CS1 and CS2 due to the recombination of excessive charge carriers in the diode during the rise of the switch voltage.
500 450 400 350 Eo ff [m J] 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 0 100 200 300 400 I lo ad [A] 500 600 700 0.25 uF 0.5 uF 1.0 uF 2.0 uF

Fig. 16:

Turn on losses of IGCTs at zero voltage as a function of the commutation current. (Vdc=2.7kV; Tj=115C; 4.5kV RCIGCT; ZVS operation)

Gate Drive Considerations

To determine the requirements of an IGCT gate unit at zero voltage switching, the influence of the soft turn off transients on the gate charge flowing into the gate unit was investigated. To measure the gate current in the extremely low inductive gate current path a special coaxial shunt was developed and inserted in both gate connections. The shunts were constructed as compact as possible to avoid additional stray inductance. The figures 17 and 18 show waveforms of the turn off transients of the investigated 51mm 4.5kV IGCT including the measured gate currents. The evaluation of the measured gate currents at different load currents and junction temperatures showed, that the gate charge of turn off transients is reduced by about 10%-15% at zero voltage turn off transients (CS1=CS2=0.5F; dv/dt=500V/ s) compared to the snubberless operation due to the increased recombination of charge carriers during the reduced rate of rise of the switch voltage at zero voltage switching. The peak gate current is slightly higher than the anode current to be turned off at hard and soft switching since the IGCT is hard driven in both cases. The influence of the gate drive conditions (diG/dt, peak value and duration of the pulse of the positive gate current) on the IGCTs turning on at zero voltage has not been investigated yet. However, it is expected that the turn on gate current (peak value and duration) can be reduced in comparison to the snubberless operation.

Fig. 15:

Turn off losses of the IGCT inverse diode as a function of the commutation current (Vdc=2.7kV; Tj=115C; Lr=7.5H; 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCT; ZVS operation)

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800 A 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 -100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 s 10 IGS1 IS1 VS1

4.0 kV 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 -0.5

voltage after the end of the hold off time are the important switching transients of the considered ZCS. Fig. 19 shows the corresponding measured waveforms of the IGCT of the auxiliary switch SAS1.

Auxiliary Resonant Commutated Pole Commutation

Active turn on transients
The active turn on transient of the IGCT of SAS1 initiates the ARCP commutation. The IGCT turns on at half of the dc link voltage and the rate of the current rise is limited by the resonant inductor to

Fig. 17:

Measured anode current IS1, gate current IGS1and anodecathode voltage VS1 of an IGCT at a snubberless turn off transient (Vdc=2.7kV; Tj=115C; Iload=650A; 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCT)
4.0 kV VS1 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 IGS1 1.0 0.5 0 -0.5

800 A 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 -100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 s 10 IS1

diAS 1 Vdc . Thus most of the = dt 2 Lr

commutation voltage of the auxiliary switch drops off across the resonant inductor and the turn on losses of both IGCT and series connected diode are very low at moderate rates of current rise of diAS1/dt = 180-340A/s (Lr=7.5 / 4H) at Vdc=2700V. The turn on process of the IGCT is basically equivalent to that in an up to date IGCT converter and the occurring low turn on losses (Eon100mJ) of the auxiliary switch are caused by the space charge modulation of the IGCT and the series diode.

Fig. 18:

Measured anode current IS1, gate current IGS1 and anodecathode voltage VS1 of an IGCT at a ZVS turn off transient (Vdc=2.7kV; Tj=115C; Iload=650A; Lr=7.5H; CS=0.5F; 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCT)

Passive turn off transients

After the current iAS1 reaches zero at the end of time interval 6 the series diode of SAS1 turns off taking over reverse blocking voltage during the interruption of the reverse recovery current (Fig. 4, Fig. 6). The turn off losses of the diode are determined by the excessive charge carriers inside the diode after the zero crossing of the diode current. Thus the turn off losses depend on the time interval of the ARCP commutation (sum of time intervals 4,5 and 6):
t ARCP 2 Lr iload = 2 V dc 2 Lr I R + 2 V dc Vdc + 2 2 Lr CS arctan Lr 2 I R 2 CS

Behavior of IGCTs as Zero Current

1.2 kA 0.8 0.4 0 tx -0.4 tH IGAS1 IGAS1 IAS1 IAS1

(1)

1.5 kV 1.0 0.5

VAS1,IG

! : Peak Reverse Recovery Current of the inverse where I R diode of S2 during the ARCP-commutation
and the occurring peak current

0 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 s 120

+ AS1 = iload + I i R

Fig. 19:

Measured anode current IAS1, gate current IGAS1 ZCS (Vdc=2.7kV; Iload=650A; Tj=115C; tH=12s; CS=0.25F; Lr=7.5H; 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCT)

Vdc Lr 2 2 CS

(2)

The principle waveforms of the auxiliary switch configuration, consisting of a RCIGCT and a series connected diode, can be taken from Fig. 4 and Fig. 6 respectively. The use of the auxiliary switch is only required during the ARCP commutation. Obviously the active turn on transient of the IGCT, the turn off transient of the series diode during the reverse recovery process and the behavior of the IGCT when it is stressed with forward blocking
EPE

at a given dc link voltage. The diode turn off losses depicted in Fig. 20 show, that the losses just slightly depend on the load current. The losses increase with increasing value of the capacitors CS due to an increasing peak current AS1 according to equation 2.

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IGCTs In Soft Switching Power Converters

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 Eoff [J] 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0 100 200 300 400 I load [A] 500 600 700

0.25 uF 0.5 uF 1.0 uF 2.0 uF

Fig. 20:

Turn off losses of the series diode of the IGCT-ZCS as a function of the commutation current (Vdc=2.7kV; Tj=115C; Lr=7.5H; 38mm 4.5kV diode)

Capacitive Commutation
Behavior of the IGCT at a polarity change of the switch voltage
When the current iAS1 reaches zero at the end of time interval 6 and the series diode of SAS1 turns off taking over reverse blocking voltage, the IGCT turns off at zero current and zero voltage (Fig. 19). However, there are still excessive charge carriers inside the IGCT when the current iAS1 reaches zero, if the current iAS1 falls with typical rates of some 100A/s. The reverse recovery current of the series diode flows through the IGCT inverse diode and the IGCT evacuating a part of its excessive storage charge. If the gate is connected to a negative voltage after the time interval tx after the zero crossing of the current iAS1 the negative gate current evacuates both the gate cathode junction as well as the middle pn junction of the IGCT via the inverse diode [18]. Thus the excessive charge carriers of the IGCT after the zero crossing of the switch current are evacuated by recombination, the negative gate current and the reverse recovery current of the series diode.
0.8 0.7 0.6 Eoff [J] 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0 10 20 30 tH [us] 40 50 60 70 163A 325A 650A

If there are still excessive charge carriers when the IGCT is stressed with forward blocking voltage at the end of small hold off times (0stH 35s), a substantial so called Forward Recovery Current evacuates the remaining charge carriers during the rise of the switch voltage causing essential switching losses of IGCTs in the ZCS mode (Fig. 19). These forward recovery losses, which are proportional to the forward recovery charge, are depicted in Fig. 21 as a function of the hold off time. Obviously the losses drastically decrease with increasing value of the hold off time due to the occurring recombination of charge carriers. The forward recovery losses are reduced by about 60% at a hold off time of tH=15s in comparison to the minimum hold off time of tH=3s. After about 60s the excessive charge carriers are recombined completely, totally avoiding the ZCS turn off losses of IGCTs. Like expected, measurements at varying time intervals tx (0stx3s) showed, that the exact time point of turning on the negative gate voltage does not influence the occurring ZCS turn off losses. A parasitic turn on transient of the IGCT could not be observed in the entire measured hold off time range, since the majority of the forward recovery charge flows into the gate unit.

Gate Drive Considerations

A substantial simplification of the IGCT gate unit is certainly one important advantage if IGCTs are operated as ZCS. The IGCT gate charge as a function of the hold off time tH is depicted in Fig. 22.
AS1 turned off tX after zero crossing of current 1000 800 QG [uAs] 600 400 200 0 0 10 20 tH [us] 30 25C, tX=1us 115C, tX=1us 25C, tX=0us 115C, tX=0us

Fig. 22:

Gate charge of the auxiliary switch IGCTZCS as a function of the hold off time (Vdc=2.7kV; Iload=650A; Lr=7.5H; CS=0.25F; 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCT)

Fig. 21:

ZCS turn off losses of the IGCTZCS as a function of the hold off time (Vdc=2.7kV; Tj=115C; Lr=7.5H; CS=0.25F; 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCT)

In comparison to the case, where the negative gate voltage is applied at the zero crossing of the switch current (tx=0s) a delay of 1s of turning on the negative gate voltage reduces the IGCT gate charge by 15%-20%. It can be taken from Table I that both the turn off gate charge and the negative peak gate current of the auxiliary switch (IGCT-ZCS) is substantially reduced in comparison to the snubber-less operation and zero voltage switching. Since the turn on transient of an IGCT ZCS is basically equivalent to that of an IGCT in a conventional IGCT converter the required turn on gate current is basically the same in both applications.

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IGCTs In Soft Switching Power Converters

TABLE I: Gate charge and peak gate current during turn off transients (Vdc=2700V; Iload=650A; ZVS/ZCS: CS=0.5F; Lr=7.5H; tH=5s; tx=1s; Tj=115C) Snubberless operation QG IGmax 1430 As (100%) 740 A (100%) IGCT-ZVS 1280 As (89%) 730 A (99%) IGCT-ZCS 818 As (57%) 175 A (23%)

Comparison of IGCTs at Zero Voltage Switching and Zero Current Switching

Table II summarizes the switching losses of the considered 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCTs at snubberless operation, zero voltage switching and zero current switching for a reasonable design of the resonant elements. Since the IGCTZCS operates only at half the dc link voltage in the ARCP test circuit, Table II contains a column with the original measured ZCS switching losses with a commutation voltage of VC=1350V and a column in which the ZCS switching losses are scaled to a commutation voltage of VC=2700V.
TABLE II: Switching losses of 51mm 4.5kV RCIGCTs (Vdc=2700V; Iload=650A; ZVS/ZCS: CS=0.5F; Lr=7.5H; Tj=115C) Switching Transient IGCT turn on [mJ] IGCT turn off [mJ] Diode turn off [mJ] Snubberless IGCT Operation -ZVS IGCT-ZCS (VC=1350V) IGCT-ZCS (VC=2700V, scaled) 248 [100%] 1300 (tH=5s) [62%] 820 (tH=10s) [40%] 1340 [90%]

Summarizing it should be noticed, that zero voltage switching enables a reduction of the IGCT switching losses by 50% at moderate dv/dts (CS=0.5F; dv/dt=500V/s @ Iload=650A) to 80% % at low dv/dts (CS=2F; dv/dt=162.5 V/s @ Iload=650A). While the gate turn off charge is slightly reduced by about 10%-15% the peak turn off gate current at zero voltage switching is equal to that at snubberless operation. However, it is expected, that the turn on gate current pulse can be reduced at zero voltage turn on transients compared to the active turn on transients in conventional snubberless IGCT converters. The soft turn off transients of the IGCT inverse diodes and the substantial reduction of the diode switching losses are additional advantages of zero voltage switching. The IGCT switching losses at zero current switching can be reduced by about 35% at small hold off times (tH=5s) to about 95% at large hold off times (tH=30s) at a commutation voltage of VC=2700V. Since the active turn on transient of an IGCT ZCS is basically equivalent to that of an IGCT in a conventional IGCT converter, the turn on gate current pulse should be similar in both applications. However, both the peak turn off gate current and the gate turn off charge is substantially reduced at ZCS operation compared to ZVS or snubberless operation of IGCTs. The relatively high diode turn off losses and the necessity of a clamp circuit to limit the occurring overvoltages during the interruption of the reverse recovery current are disadvantages of the ZCS operation.

248 [100%]

160 [65%]

100 [40%] 650 (tH=5s) [31%] 410 (tH=10s) [20%] 670 [45%]

Potential of IGCTs at Soft Switching

Assuming an overall reduction of the switching losses by about 50%-60% in soft switching IGCTs an increase of the switching frequency by a factor of two is possible in comparison to up to date snubberless IGCT converters. Thus switching frequencies of fs=1-3kHz are realistic in high power converters. Alternatively the decreased switching losses could also be used to increase the output current of a soft switching IGCT converter in comparison to a conventional IGCT converter using the same devices. If the soft switching IGCT converter is designed to limit its rate of voltage rise at the converter terminals to dv/dt10001500V/s an additional output filter, which is usually applied in IGCT converters to protect the insulation of the connected interface cables and motors from the steep dv/dts, can be avoided. Further investigations will show, if the increased silicon utilization and the saved output filter overcompensate the costs for the additional expense of active and passive components of a soft switching IGCT converter. The optimization of IGCTs and diodes for soft switching could further increase the potential of soft switching IGCT converters in high power applications. Only minor modifications of a standard IGCT gate unit were necessary to manufacture and test a 3kHz IGCT gate unit. Both the bill of materials and the production process proof, that the costs of a high switching frequency IGCT gate unit are just slightly higher in comparison to that of a standard IGCT gate unit.

2100 [100%]

1050 [50%]

1490 [100%]

340 [23%]

Compared to snubberless operation the switching losses of IGCTs and diodes can be reduced by about 50% (IGCTs) and 75% (diodes) at zero voltage switching using resonant capacitors of CS=0.5F which corresponds to a rate of voltage rise of dv/dt =500V/s across the commutating switches. In the original test circuit the IGCT switching losses at zero current switching are reduced by about 70% (tH=5s) to 80% (tH=10s) and the diode turn off losses are decreased by about 55%. Considering the scaled ZCS switching losses at a commutation voltage of VC=2700V the IGCT switching losses are reduced by about 35% (tH=5s) to 55% (tH=10s). The turn off losses of the ZCS series diode are in the same range like those of a corresponding inverse diode in a conventional IGCT converter since the turn off transients are very similar in both cases.

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IGCTs In Soft Switching Power Converters

Conclusions
The paper has shown, that the switching losses of commercially available 4.5kV IGCTs can be reduced substantially in soft switching topologies. Extensive measurements at soft switching and snubberless operation in an ARCP test circuit showed a reduction of the IGCT switching losses by 50% (ZVS operation) to 80% (ZCS operation) compared to the snubberless operation applying a reasonable design of the resonant elements. The diode turn off losses could be reduced by 75% (ZVS operation) to 55% (ZCS operation) in the same circuit. The experimental investigation of a turn off transient of a 51mm (4500V, 650A) IGCT at Vdc=2700Vand Iload=1000A proofed, that IGCTs can handle essentially increased maximum turn off currents at soft switching. Further measurements showed an essential reduction of the gate charge by 40%-50% and of the negative peak gate current by about 75% if IGCTs are used as ZCS. Only minor modifications of a standard IGCT gate unit were necessary, to manufacture a low cost 3kHz gate unit. The excellent behavior of IGCTs at soft switching is an encouraging intermediate result for the potential use of IGCTs in soft switching converters for industrial and traction applications.

9. R.W. De Doncker. Recent Developments of Power Electronic Components for High Power Applications, Rec. of the Conference: Modern Power Semiconductors and Power Electronic Systems in Railway Applications, 1999, pp. 1-32. 10. S. Bernet, R. Teichmann, A. Zuckerberger, P. Steimer. Comparison of High Power IGBTs and Hard Driven GTOs for High Power Inverters, Conf. Rec. APEC, 1998, pp. 711-718. 11. R.W. DeDoncker and J.P. Lyons. The Auxiliary Resonant Commutated Pole Converter, Conf. Rec. IAS, 1990, pp. 1228-1235. 12. S. Bernet, K. Bernet and T.A. Lipo. The Auxiliary Resonant Commutated Pole Matrix Converter - A New Topology for High Power Applications, Conf. Rec. IAS, 1996, pp. 1242-1249. 13. S. Bernet, R. Teichmann. The Auxiliary Resonant Commutated Pole Matrix Converter for DCApplications, Conf. Rec. PESC, 1997, pp. 1225-1231. 14. B. J. Cardoso Filho, S. Bernet, T.A. Lipo. A New Control Strategy for the PWM Current Stiff Rectifier/Inverter with Resonant Snubbers, Conf. Rec. PESC, 1997, pp. 537-579. 15. B.J. Cardoso Filho, T.A. Lipo. Current Stiff Converter Topologies with Resonant Snubbers, Conf. Rec. IAS, 1997, pp. 1322-1329. 16. S. Salama, Y. Tadros. Quasi Resonant 3 Phase IGBT Inverter, Conf. Rec. PESC, 1995, pp.28-35. 17. S.Salama, Y. Tadros. Novel Soft Switching Quasi Resonant 3 Phase IGBT Inverter, Conf. Rec. EPE, 1995, pp.2.095-2.099. 18. S. Bernet. Power Semiconductors as Zero Current Switches in Soft Switching Converters, Ph.D. Thesis, Ilmenau University, Germany, 1995. 19. J. Petzoldt, S. Bernet, T. Reimann. Comparison of power converters with dc and ac link, Conf. Rec. EPE, 1993, Vol. 3, pp.189-195. 20. S. Bernet, T. Reimann, T. Taleb, J. Petzoldt. Special effects of IGBTs in ZCS and ZVS applications, Conf. Rec. PCIM, 1997, pp. 203-217. 21. S. Bernet. Characterization and Comparison of IGBTs and MCTs in Zero Current Switching Converters, Conf. Rec. EPE, 1997, pp. 1482-1487. 22. R. Teichmann, S. Bernet. Investigation and Comparison of Auxiliary Resonant Commutated Pole Converter Topologies, Conf. Rec. PESC, 1998, pp.15-23.

References
1. K. Sommer, J. Gttert, G. Lefranc, R. Spanke. Multichip High Power IGBT-Modules for Traction and Industrial Application, Conf. Rec. EPE, 1997, pp. 1112-1116. 2. G. Hilpert, T. Zllig. Integrated Power Module in IGBT Technology for Modular Power Traction Converters, Conf. Rec. EPE, 1997, pp. 1106-1111. 3. K. Ishii, Y. Konishi, M. Takeda, E. Thal, G. Debled. A New High Power, High Voltage IGBT, Conf. Rec. PCIM, 1997, pp. 185-190. 4. H.E. Grning, B. degard. High Performance Low Cost MVA Inverters Realized with Integrated Gate Commutated Thyristors (IGCT), Conf. Rec. EPE, 1997, pp. 2060-2065. 5. S. Lindner, S. Klaka, M. Frecker, E. Carroll, H. Zeller. A New Range of Reverse Conducting Gate Commutated Thyristors for High Voltage, Medium Power Application, Conf. Rec. EPE, 1997, pp. 1117-1124. 6. P.K. Steimer, H.E. Grning, J. Werninger, E. Carroll, S. Klaka, S. Lindner. IGCT - A New Emerging Technology for High Power, Low Cost Inverters, Conf. Rec. IAS, 1997, pp. 1592-1599. 7. M.K. Buschmann, J.K. Steinke. Robust and Reliable Medium Voltage PWM Inverter with Motor Friendly Output, Conf. Rec. EPE, 1997, pp. 3502-3507. 8. A. Zuckerberger, E. Suter, Ch. Schaub, A. Klett, P.K. Steimer. Design, simulation and realization of high power NPC converters equipped with IGCTs, Conf. Rec. IAS, 1997, pp. 865-872.

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