Gate Drive Concept For Power Switches In Cryogenic Applications

Inhalt:
The application of power electronics in cryogenic environments enables a significant enhancement in power density and efficiency of inverter systems, especially when employing modern Wide BandGap (WBG) power semiconductor devices. This work introduces a novel concept of an gate drive unit for the control and monitoring of cryogenically cooled Gallium Nitride (GaN) power modules, designed for application in an electric aircraft propulsion system. This specific application poses unique challenges in terms of realizing gate control and hardware protection functions, which are described and addressed by the proposed driver concept. Furthermore, the hardware implementation of the gate drive unit is outlined, and the results of double-pulse and short-circuit tests are presented. The comparison between operation at room temperature and operation with cryogenic cooling of the corresponding circuit components is particularly emphasized.