nalysis of IGBT modules connected in series
A.N.Githiari
P.R. Palmer
hidexing terms: Nnnierical aniilysk, Bipolur transistors
Abstract: An analysis is presented of IGBTs
connected in series, with reference to the
phenomenon of parasitic oscillation. A linear
model is developed for use in the study. Two
methods are proposed; an analytical approach
and a numerical approach based on the state
space analysis. The analytical approach offers
insight into the effect of the various parameters,
whereas the numerical approach offers greater
accuracy as it makes fewer assumptions. The
theoretical analysis is corroborated by the
experimental results from a step-up convertor.
Conclusions are drawn concerning the circuit
design, and appropriate experimental results are
provided, illustrating near ideal operation.
1 Introduction
The IGBT (insulated-gate bipolar transistor) may be
considered as representing the new generation of power
semiconductor devices, which are based on MOSFET
manufacturing technologies, while offering a low on
state with a high voltage blocking capability. Modules
rated at 3300V and 1200A are available. In common
with the MOSFET, the gate may be used to exercise
control over the active operation of the device. There
has been considerable interest in the operation of such
IGBT modules in series for high-power applications.
The basic circuit issues associated with the design of
such multiple IGBT switches are known from the ear-
lier use of conventional thyristors in series. Isolation
must be provided for the gate signal, and power and
voltage sharing must be ensured. With thyristors, volt-
age sharing is by means of an external snubber [l, 21.
More advanced schemes for the connection of IGBTs
in series have been proposed, based on utilising the
IGBT gate control feature [3-61.
Relying on the active behaviour of the IGBT die,
rather than on substantial passive components, is
attractive, since it reduces the number of power compo-
nents; thus improving the reliability at the cost of
increased losses in the IGBT. This approach, however,
causes uncertainty regarding the stability and damping
of the circuit. The IGBT’s parasitic energy storage
components may resonate at a high frequency. This is
0IEE, 1998
IEE Proceedings online no. 19982123
Paper first received 13111 November 1997 and in revised form 13th March
1998
The authors are with the Department of Engineering, University of Cam-
bridge, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ; UK
354
further complicated as it is usual practice to parallel
IGBT die inside the high-current module (above about
50A) [7-91. Kassakian and Lau [lo] have studied the
parallel operation of MOSFETs, and in particular the
possibility of differential oscillations between the
devices and their effect on reliability. This study can be
extended to parallel IGBTs, due to similarities in the
operation of the two types of device.
The issue of parasitic ringing of IGBTs connected in
series has received little attention in the literature. In
this paper, we consider the behaviour of combinations
of IGBTs and IGBT modules connected in series, tak-
ing into account the IGBT’s behaviour over its range
of operating regions. Two approaches are taken. The
first is analytical, where a transfer function is used to
describe the IGBT behaviour in the frequency domain.
We show that under-damped conditions may exist. A
numerical approach is then used to extend the analysis
to high multiples of devices. This is based on the state
space method, using the system (ABCD) [ l l ] matrices
to study stability.
2 IGBT analytical model development
The model used here is based on the linear power
MOSFET model [ 121, with suitable modifications.
Clearly, the accurate calculation of the parameters
associated with the model is of great importance. The
parasitic oscillations of interest are at a much higher
frequency than the basic switching transient [lo].
Therefore, the IGBT’s charge effect and non-linear
behaviour are properly accounted for by choosing a
suitable set of large signal conditions for the analysis,
and by finding the small signal model parameters for
each condition. This linearisation around a point is
implicit in circuit simulators, such as PSPICE, which
can model the whole transient 1131. In contrast to ana-
lytical modelling, however, these simulators cannot
yield generalised design equations.
2. I IGBT model
The input side of the IGBT is similar to that of a
MOSFET, with capacitances for the gate oxide and the
Miller effect. As in the MOSFET, the Miller capaci-
tance is nonlinear, as it is a function of the depletion
layer width around the blocking junction. Similarly,
there is an output capacitance, C,, but in the IGBT
case this is adjusted to model the charge-dominated
behaviour of the IGBT [4, 14, 151. Physically, the
charge in the base region must be swept out as the volt-
age rises. This is especially relevant to turn off follow-
ing a high on-state current. The difference is manifested
in the lower dvldt achievable by the IGBT in compari-
son to a MOSFET [14].
IEE Proc.-Circuits Devices Sysr., Vol. 145, No 5, October 1998
 A second feature of the IGBT that differentiates it Table 2: Parameters for the IGBT model
from the MOSFET is the pronounced €arly effect,
resulting from the operation of the internal wide base
pap transistor. This may be modelled as an output
resistance r, [4, 161. At typical operating points, the
values of small signal out put resistances have been
found to range from tens of ohms for a 400A 1200V
3 Aplplication of IGBTs connected in series
IGBT module, to a few hundred ohms for smaller
(10A) devices [17]. The analysed lGBT circuit uses the active voltage con-
Typically, the IGBT's transconductance is much trol scheme [4]. This method employs direct control of
greater than that of a MOSFET of similar die size. the collector voltage within a local feedback loop, as
Other features of the IGBT are not found to differ very shown iin Fig. 2. Closed loop control is attractive since
much from those of the MOSFET. The full linear it controls the IGBT's dvldt during switching, voltage
model of the lGBT may therefore be represented by overshoots and voltage sharing. Other methods only
the network of Fig. 1, where the parasitic inductances offer control of a subset of these features [19].
can also be scen.

Fig. 1
Le 'i
E
Lineur etiuiiulent circuit motlel,for uti IGBT

2.2 Determination of model pa ram e ters

The capacitance COcan be estimated by assuming that
"IliC f
the rate of rise of the IGBT collector-emitter voltage is
only influenced by this capacitance if a low impedance
gate drive is used, so as to preclude the effect of the
feedback (Miller) capacitance.
C, can also be found ana1:ytically using the models as
implemented in circuit simulators [14, 181. Table 1
/buF T
shows how the various values compare at l00V and at
600V (for the same 200A IGBT). In the Table, the
MOSFET model is taken to represent the capacitances
that would be expected in a MOSFET of similar die
size and voltage rating. Although the different expres-
sions give results of the same order of magnitude, sig-
nificant differences may be expected because the Fig. 3 Test circuit and input double pulse used jbr testing
models are themselves approximations. A MEDIC1 (i) Gate waveform: (ii) input current: (iii) TGBT cut-rcnl Q2; (iv) diode cussent
Q1
simulation result is given as a benchmark.

Table 1: Comparison of values for CO(in nF) 3. I Circuit parameters

Voltage (V) MEDIC1 Hefner Kraus
100 17 29 11
600 13 13 7 0.25
The value of output resistance Y, is fourtd to be of
the same order of magnitud'e as that during the steady
state. It is measured experimentally since nnanufactur-
ers do not normally supply sufficient data to infer a
reasonable value from the data sheets. The other IGBT
parameters used in the analysis are shown in Table 2.
These values for g,,,,Cxeand C,, are estimated from the
data sheet. For these IGBT modules, the emitter
inductance coupling back to the gate is very small, due
to the use of Kelvin emitter contacts on the chips (at v,
in Fig. 1). The total gate circuit inductance is estimated
to be 20nH from the module geometry.
IEE I'ror.-Circ.Liil.s Deiwes Svsl., Vol. 145, N o 5, Octohrr 1558
MOSFET IGBTs connected in series may be used in pulse-width
modulated voltage source inverters. To fully test such
0.68
an arrangement, a single inverter bridge leg is config-
ured as a boost convertor, (Fig. 3). Switches Q1 and
Q2 comprise two 400A IGBT modulators. IGBT con-
trol is tested under turn on, turn off (switch Q2) and
applied dvldt when off (switch Ql). To test the turn on
without having to use the convertor in its continuous
mode (which would result in high throughput power), a
double switching pulse is adopted, as shown in Fig. 3.
The voltage controller uses a forward amplifier gain
( A ) of 10 and a feedback factor (x of 0.01. The gate
resistor is the output resistance of A (10Q initially). In
order to fully model the circuit, the load and diode
have to be modelled. The current through the large
input inductor (1mH) is assumed to be constant. The
turn on :snubber inductor is 1 pH.
355
3.2 Conditions to be analysed
Attention is limited to the voltage transition times
where the active control operates. Three distinct condi-
tions have been identified, and these are represented by
the three circuits of Fig. 4.
a:1 'diode+'o (Off)
I 1
b where the first two terms of the damping coefficient are
'diode+'o (Off)
I mately 32MHz and 0.32, respectively.
Fig.4
a Turn off
C
Circuit models used in analysis of IGBT test rig
h Turn on before diode recovery
'diode
lLs
c Turn on after diode recovery
At turn off of Q2, the upper IGBT diodes are reverse
biased throughout the voltage rise time and are there-
fore modelled as capacitors, whose value is determined
by the respective diode depletion layer capacitance and
the Q1 IGBT off-state capacitance CO(off).
Turn on of Q2 is divided into two phases. The Q1
IGBT is off during both of these two phases. In the
first phase, however, the Q l diode is on with its current
falling. Q1 is therefore simply modelled as a short-cir-
cuit. The second phase begins when the Q l diode
recovers. The Q1 diode and IGBT are then represented
by their respective depletion layer capacitances.
Throughout turn on, the Q2 IGBTs are not heavily
conductivity modulated and an output capacitance of
CO(off) (Table 2) is therefore used.
4 Analytical approach
If the control loop is effective, the IGBTs in series do
not interact and therefore the analysis of one of the
IGBTs (Fig. 1) is sufficient. The results may then be
extended to the multiple IGBT string by scaling the
parameters.
4.7 Turn off
The transfer function for the circuit of Fig. 1 is
obtained in the usual way. This yields a third-order
expression. However, on considering the parameter val-
ues associated with the IGBTs used in the test rig, it is
found that two poles dominate. The gate inductance
has an insignificant effect except at very high frequen-
356
cies (> 30MHz). The (approximate) second-order
transfer function is
vce - gmro
-
1+ S ( ~ 0 C o S R J C g +e R g c g c ~ o g m +
~
v, ) S2(RgCgeToCo)
(1)
Incorporating the two-pole model in the control system
representation of the circuit (Fig. 5 ) gives a loop trans-
fer function AH(s)P(s). Here the very wide bandwidth
EL2030 amplifier ( A ) is assumed to be ideal, as is the
voltage feedback circuit. The damping factor and the
natural frequency for the closed loop system may be
obtained in the usual way. The natural frequency io,? is
found to be
The damping factor is approximated as
found to be relatively small. Here, A , Rg and a are
chosen such that at turn off, con and i; are approxi-
reference
input,
"ref
H(s)=a
feedback network
G(s)=A.P(s)
amplifier + IGBT
vce
Fig.5 Control system representation ojactive voltage control method
Eqns. 1-3 indicate that i; increases as the IGBTs get
larger, because gm, C,,, COand Cge all increase in pro-
portion. However, the transient response becomes more
sluggish (ion drops). To restore the original perform-
ance, the gate resistance can be reduced in proportion.
Many IGBT modules contain internal gate resistors of
about 5 Q per chip. Therefore, this part of the gate
resistance (lumped with the amplifier output resistance)
scales, but it does limit the effectiveness of this remedy,
as does the gate inductance ignored in this analysis.
4.2 Turn on
During turn on, after the diode has recovered, the
transfer function of the circuit is the same as that
above, as expected from Fig. 4a and c. As the value of
the output capacitance COis lower, the damping factor
is higher and the natural frequency is also increased,
producing a faster transient response.
In practice, some parasitic ringing does appear in the
Q2 voltage. This is due to the capacitance of Q1 diodes
ringing with the turn on snubber inductor following
diode recovery. This acts as a disturbance current in
the Q2 controller loop, and the loop compensates for
it. To counteract the oscillations, a small RC snubber
network is added in parallel with the IGBT. To analyse
these oscillations, the Q2 IGBT is ignored, because it is
under stable control.
The circuit model shown in Fig. 6 is then used to
design the damping snubber network of resistor R, and
capacitor L, is the turn on snubber inductor, and
the capacitance of the Q l IGBTidiode combination is
IEE Proc -Circuits Devices Syst , Vol. 145, No. 5. October 1998
represented by C,, (off). The characteristic polynomial
is
1 + sR,C, + sLL,(Cs+ Cce)+ s3L,R,C,Cc,
There are two principal modes of oscillation, depending
on the values of R, and C,. C, is always required in
parallel with the IGBT to assist the voltage sharing,
because the active voltage control method does not
control the voltage during the tail time [20]. For the
IGBTs tested, a choice of CA= 10 C,, (off) is adequate.
For a 400A IGBT at lkV, C, = IOnF, resulting in
snubber losses of about 10Vd at 1kHz. R, is then cho-
only deal with the system matrix A:
A = A;IA~ (7)
(4)
In the general case for the rig with 2n IGBTs, i.e. each
switch using a series string of n devices, it can be shown
that a maximum of (8n + 1) stales are sufficient to
describe the equivalent circuit.
It is then found that the IGBT terms in matrix A are
replaced by diagonal matrices, thus increasing the
order of A. For example, if each IGBT in the rig has a
different value of transconductance (g,,,71,gm2, ..) corre-
sponding, to (IGBT1, IGBT2, ..), the matrix diag(g,)

: .I
sen for adequate damping, and here 39Q was chosen. would be

1
v
.
Ls gml 0
[: 0 ...
0
gm2
. . . . . . . . . . . .
gms

Matrix A gives a full description of the circuit behav-

<
Fig. 6 Siniplificd modelfor analysing tum-on oscillations
iour around any particular operating point, and matri-
ces are easy to manipulate with MATLAB. First, the
eigenvalues of A are used to check the circuit stability.
The frequency of any oscillations and their respective
5 Numerical approach decay rates can then be determined from the imaginary
and real parts of the eigenvalues.
The analytical approach is :suitable for circuits which
may be reduced to a single equation for a given range Table 3: Example eigenvalues (negative)
of operating points [lo]. The assumption so far is that
each series circuit acts independently. For the case 3 x IO2 2 6 x IO3 2.6 x IO3 2.6 x IO3 2.7x I O 4 (0.43f
where the circuits are coupled, numerical methods can 40.311 x
be used, with the state space method being particularly 106
useful [l 11. 2.5 x IO6 2.5 x IO6 6.1 x IO' 6.3x IO' 3.8 x IO'
a:1 3.8 x IO' 5.0x IO8 5.0x IO' 8.9 x IO' 8.9 x IO8
1
The analysis was carried out for the test rig with 4
lGBTs ( n = 2) and a lpH turn on snubber. For turn
on, when the upper diodes recover (Fig. 5 ) the set of
I - L I eigenvalues is shown in Table 3 . 'This set of eigenvalues
clearly shows one mode of oscillation, at a frequency of
40.3 x IO6 rad/s (6.4MHz). The oscillations die away
with a tiine constant of 1/(0.43 x IO6) ( 2 . 3 ~ ) As
. the
numerical method includes the other effects in the
IGBT, e.g. the gate inductance, this analysis confirms
the premise adopted in the analytical approach that the
voltage-controlled IGBTs do not participate in the
Fig.7 fixample equivalent circuit u s d in numerical analysis n = 1
oscillations at turn on.
The form of the circuit used in the numerical analysis
is given in Fig. 7, where single IGBTs are shown for ...................... ............................
6.0 ................. - 1.2
Q1 and Q2. For simplicity, the stray collector and ....
emitter inductances are ignored, as they are in series
with L,. The states are defined by the energies, as cur-
rents in inductors and voltages across capacitors. 2 4.0 - 0.8
2 3
The derivation of the matrices can be performed for s; z.
the simplest case of the upper diode being on, where c a
the upper IGBT and diode are ignored in the analysis,
as in the circuit of Fig. 4b. Dropping the subscripts for c
3

g 2.0
m ...
..
\ 0.4
8
2
the other IGBT, the selected state vector is
x [Isi ig 7 v g e i vce i U,]T 0 0
The relationship between the states and their time snubber resistor R, R
derivatives may be written down using basic circuit Fig.8 Variation of fYequency and damping factor of dominant oscilla-
analysis (see Appendix). Then tions with snubber resistance R,
......... frequency, MHz
AIk =z A ~ x (5) ~~~~ damping factor

Rewriting this matrix equation in the form

The selection of the snubber resistance R,, can also be
f = Ax BU + (6) analysed by this method. Fig. 8 shows the variation of
with the input vector U being null, the analysis needs the frequency and damping factor for the most
IEE Puoc.-Circuifs Devices S v s t , Vol. 14.5, No. 5, October 1998 357
dominant oscillation mode in the circuit, as R,? is
varied. Two principle ‘modes’ around 2MHz and
6MHz are seen, as mentioned above. It is observed
that a value of R, of about 15Q would give the highest
damping with respect to both ‘modes’. However, the
value of 39Q avoids the unattractive low ringing
frequency and high snubber currents.
8.0 1 18.0
--.I.-
+--
2.0
2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5
s q w
Fig.9 Variation of estimated frequency and damping factor with square
root of ampliper gain A
-0- frequency, MHz
- + - lidamping factor
At turn off, the anticipated behaviour of each IGBT
within its own control loop is confirmed by this
approach. Again a pair of dominant poles appears.
Fig. 9 shows the nearly linear variation of the natural
frequency con and damping factor <, with the square
root of the controller gain, sqrt(A). This is as predicted
in eqns. 2 and 3. Further simulations showed that the
damping factor for this mode is fairly constant as the
number of IGBTs connected in series increases, con-
firming the lack of interaction between the various con-
trollers in the series chain. Here, changes from 0.30<
for n = 1 to 0.26 for n = 5.
This investigation also found that, for very low val-
ues of gate resistance (less than lQ), new modes of
Oscillation arise, becoming less damped as the gate
resistance is decreased. A small gate resistance is there-
fore essential in eliminating the possibility of parasitic
oscillations.
6 Experimental results
Experimental results for the test circuit of Fig, 3 are
shown in Figs. 10-12. In Figs. 10 and 11 no parallel
RC snubber arrangement is used on the devices.
330.6 335.6
time, ps
Fig. 10 Experimental result showin turn osf and turn on of two Q2
IGBTs connected in series (no RC snuhers)
C1 = lower Q2 IGBT voltage (100 Vidiv)
C2 = total Q2 IGBT voltage (100 Vidiv)
358
Fig. 10 shows the turn on and turn off for two
SKM400-GA122D modules (1200V, 400A) in series
under active voltage control. The reference input volt-
age used at turn off in this case has two steps, and both
are exponential rises [20]. The first step is used for pre-
conditioning, thus eliminating the worst effects of
device nonlinearities such as recovering from the over-
drive of the IGBT gate. The turn-on reference is a sin-
gle exponential and slower than necessary to emphasise
the two stages of turn on. The pair of devices operate
in a stable and controlled manner. The voltage match-
ing throughout is very good. During the second stage
of turn on, the IGB’T voltages are seen to ring. This
coincides with the diode recovery of the opposite
switch (Ql), as seen in Fig. 11.
12.0
5.0
10 3 12 8 15 3
time, ps
Fig.11 Experimental r e d t showing turn on of two Q2 IGBTs con-
nected in series (no RC snubbers)
C1 = 4 2 IGBT voltage (200 Vidiv)
C2 = Ql IGBT diode voltage (400 V/div)
C3 = Q1 diode current (50 Aldiv)
-3.44 6.56 16.56
time, ps
Fig. 12 Experimental result showing turn off and turn on of two Q2
IGBTs connected in series (with RC snubbers)
C1 = total 4 2 IGBT voltage (400 Vidiv)
C2 = Q1 upper diode voltage. (200 Vidiv)
C3 = Q1 lower diode voltage (200 Vidiv)
C4 = Ql diode current (100 Ndiv)
In Fig. 12, the sinal1 RC network (39&, 10nF) is
used in parallel with the IGBT, as recommended
above. All the oscillations are now highly damped.
7 Discussion
Three phases in the active voltage control can be seen
in Fig. 10. The phases are turn off, with the IGBT volt-
age rising according to the two step reference; turn on
before diode recovery; and turn on after diode recov-
340.6 ery. As anticipated in the analysis, turn off from a sub-
stantial current does not exhibit any unwanted
oscillation. If there was negligible current in 4 2 at turn
off, the appropriate analysis for the circuit in Fig. 4c
would apply. Immediately following the voltage rise is
IEE Proc.-Circuits Devices Syst., Vol. 145, No. 5, October 1998
the snap in IGBT voltage as the snubber inductor volt-
age collapses. This condition was not analysed as it
covers the condition where the IGBT current is zero,
and therefore there is no active control exercised.
At turn on with the Q1 diode conducting, the control
loop of 4 2 is applying a controlled voltage to L,, thus
controlling its current. There are no mechanisms for
oscillation other than those related to the individual
IGBT active voltage control loops. These are fully sta-
bilised, as described above.
After the recovery of the diode in Q1, the oscillation
of the capacitance of Q1 and the inductor L, occurs.
The voltage of Q1 is not under control as the IGBTs of
Q1 are off, as required in a switching circuit. The cor-
responding oscillation observed in the Q2 voltage is
greatly diminished when compared to that in Q1. This
clearly emphasises the high performance of the active
voltage control loop on the IGBTs in 4 2 . The observed
oscillation frequency (4-5MHz) is close to that pre-
dicted by theory (6MHz). Once the oscillations are
eliminated by the small parallel snubber network on
each IGBT, the waveforms become close to ideal.
These results indicate that the use of IGBTs con-
nected in series, as found in a PWM inverter, is fully
described using the numerical approach. Nonlinearities
are taken into account by considering a range of
parameter values, depending on the operating point.
Here, the final design is conservative in order to dem-
onstrate the method. Nevertheless, the subsequent
switching performance is comparable to that which can
be obtained using a high-speed open loop gate drive,
but without the associated overshoot and ringing.
8 Conclusions
We have presented two approaches to the analysis of
unstable and under-damped oscillations in circuits
employing IGBTs connected in series. They offer the
designer a choice, depending on the nature of the cir-
cuit. The analytical approach is particularly useful in
the design of the IGBT’s closed loop controller and
snubber circuits. The IGBT model accounts for the
majority of the device operating regions with a simple
adjustment of the parameters.
The numerical approach is suitable for the compre-
hensive analysis necessary for identifying all sources of
undamped oscillation. It also requires an appreciation
of the different operating points and the parameters of
the IGBT models. The availability and ease of use of
mathematical software means that this approach is
suitable for use in the design at an early stage.
Our numerical results were found to corroborate the
analytical and experimental results. The snubber design
was accomplished using both methods and confirmed
by the experimental results. A pre-conditioning phase
in the IGBT reference waveform was necessary, how-
ever, to reduce the effect of switching delays and to
reduce the IGBT’s Miller capacitance prior to turn off.
From the analysis, it was seen that the IGBT circuit
scales reasonably well, especially if care is given to
avoid stray inductance in the gate circuit connections.
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1997, 12, (4), pp. 637-644
20 PALMER, P.R., GITHIARI, A.N., and LEEDHAM, R.L.: ‘A
comparison of IGBT technologies for use in the series connec-
tion’. Proceedings of 6th IEE international conference on Power
electronics and variable speed drives, PEVD’96, Nottingham,
United Kingdom, September 1996, pp. 236-241
10 Appendix
The following derivation is for the lowest order case; IZ
= 1, and the upper diode is on, and so the upper IGBT
is ignored. Then, dropping the IGBT subscripts
Eqn. 9 is rearranged to give the system matrix A. x = [ I s , i y l , i g 2., .. , iy2n,vge1,vye2,.. . ,vye2n,
A = AT1A2 vc,l,vce2,. . . ,vc,2n,vs1,v,2,. . . ,v,2n]
-1
0 0 L.3 0 0 0
0 0 0 diag(lq) 0 0
-diag(C,,) 0

0 0 -diag(C,,) diag(C,,t) 0
0 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 disg(C,)

0 -R, 1 -uA 0 0 0
-1 0 0 0 -diag(R,) 1
1 1
0 0
0 0
-1 0 -disg(g,)

This is then manipulated in MATLAB. 0 0 0 -diag( k) -diag( k)

In the general case, for n > 1, the matrix has order (11)
(8n + 1) where C, = C,, + C,, and Gout = C,, + Co.

360 IEE Proc.-Circuits Devices Syst., Vol. 145, No. 5, October 1998