Simple slew-rate control technique cuts switching losses

Inhalt:
The reduction of switching losses in power electronic systems such as drives is limited by EMI or parameters like the slope of switched voltages. This behavior is usually fixed by selecting the effective gate resistance of power transistors. It cannot be adapted spontaneously during operation. This paper shows a simple way to overcome this dilemma by operating conventional gate-driver ICs in parallel. Characterization data evaluations are presented for both a discrete IGBT IKW40N120T2 and a discrete silicon-carbide MOSFET IMW120R045M1.