Active voltage balancing control for 10kV three-level converter using series-connected HV-IGBTs

The integration of series connection of insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and multi-level can achieve high voltage converters with low total harmonics distortion (THD). However, due to the transient voltage unbalance, the series connection technology has not been widely applied. Asynchronous gate drive signals, which cause series-connected IGBTs not to turn-on and turn-off at the same time, result in serious unbalanced voltage sharing. This paper presents an active voltage balancing control with its electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) design to solve the asynchronous gate signal problem. The effectiveness of the active voltage balancing control has been experimentally validated in a 10kV dc-link voltage three-level bridge using two 4.5kV HV-IGBTs in series-connection.

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