Gate Driver with Short Inherent Dead-Time for Wide-Bandgap High-Precision Inverters

Pelle Weiler, Bas Vermulst

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionAcademicpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

This work introduces a novel gate driver for use with wide-bandgap devices in high-power, high-precision applications. As power amplifiers move to higher operating frequencies, the dead time becomes a significant portion of the overall switching period, resulting in reduced control precision and increased output distortion. The developed driver allows to minimize the dead time inserted between the switching actions of a half-bridge. A prototype using 650 V gallium nitride transistors is developed to evaluate the concept. A low-cost digital isolator connects the high and low-side drivers and prevents cross conduction. As long as one switch is conducting, the other is prevented from turning on. This automatically ensures a minimal dead time determined by the isolators propagation delay. Each driver is powered by an isolated unipolar supply and a differential drive scheme provides negative gate-source voltages to safely turn off the transistors despite high switching speeds. The prototype is tested in a double pulse setup at 400 V and reaches dead times as low as 14 ns.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAPEC 2020 - 35th Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Pages1593-1598
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781728148298
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Jun 2020
Event35th Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, APEC 2020 - Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, United States
Duration: 15 Mar 202019 Mar 2020
Conference number: 35
http://www.apec-conf.org/about

Conference

Conference35th Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, APEC 2020
Abbreviated titleAPEC 2020
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityNew Orleans
Period15/03/2019/03/20
Internet address

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Gate Driver with Short Inherent Dead-Time for Wide-Bandgap High-Precision Inverters'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this