A Desaturation-based Short Circuit Protection Technique for Quasi-Two-Level Converters

Abstract:
This paper presents a desaturation-based technique for short-circuit protection in quasi-two-level converters. The proposed design enables a cost-effective implementation of this protection scheme in a flying capacitor multilevel converter operating as a quasi-two-level converter, requiring only two detection circuits for n series-connected switches. Detailed design guidelines for the protection circuit are provided, along with simulations that illustrate its operational boundaries and experimental verification of the proposed scheme.