Advantages of IGBT Series Connection in 1.500 V PVinverters
Conference: PCIM Europe 2015 - International Exhibition and Conference for Power Electronics, Intelligent Motion, Renewable Energy and Energy Management
05/19/2015 - 05/20/2015 at Nürnberg, Deutschland
Proceedings: PCIM Europe 2015
Pages: 8Language: englishTyp: PDF
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Authors:
Noeding, Christian; Felgemacher, Christian; Dombert, Benjamin; Zacharias, Peter (Center of Competence for Distributed Electric Power Technology (KDEE), University of Kassel, Wilhelmshöher Allee 71, 34121 Kassel, Germany)
Abstract:
A series connection of two conventional 1.200 V rated IGBTs allows a maximum blocking voltage of 2.400 V in theory. With respect to overvoltage during the switching process and the impact of cosmic radiation, the voltage stress of a single 1.200 V device should not exceed 70 % to 75 % of the rated value to achieve a trade-off in lifetime and voltage resulting in a maximum blocking voltage of 1.800 V for a series connection. Within this paper the voltage sharing between the IGBTs will be investigated and the behavior of a newly developed balancing method will be shown. Moreover advantages and challenges of the IGBT series connection are discussed for large-scale PV-inverter systems.