Real-time adjustable gate current control IC solves dv/dt problems in electric drives

Inhalt:
The tuning of commutation speed of currents between freewheeling diodes and IGBT plays an important role in respect of the EMI behavior of power electronics ([1] [6]). High dv/dt means a large stress for the motor winding insulation and motor bearings ([7], [8]) as well as it causes conducted and radiated interferences with the supply in general. Many works for speed control of IGBT turn-on are known ([2], [3], [4]) and solutions result in large and complex control units. This paper presents the benefits of a novel gate drive IC ([5]), which offers an online adjustment feature for collector emitter voltage transient dvCE/dt in respect of the switching waveforms. The paper also shows, that the IC allows targeting new design tradeoffs in the application.