Organizer:

Prof. Francesco Iannuzzo, fia@et.aau.dk

Lecturers: 

Prof. Francesco Iannuzzo, AAU Energy

ECTS:  2 

Description: 

After more than four decades of development, Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) are widely used in many high-power industrial applications. However, the complex and harsh working conditions are demanding higher and higher reliability, reaching up to 30-year expected operating life. In parallel with IGBT modules, gate drivers have been also improved dramatically over the years, significantly contributing to reliability improvement. In fact, as an important interface between IGBT modules and controllers, modern gate drivers do not only provide optimal switching signals but also monitor the operation status of IGBT modules themselves. In particular, benefiting from the understanding of semiconductor behavior matured over the years, both wear status and abnormal events can be monitored and detected, respectively, thanks to modern IGBT gate driver technologies. This course presented an overview of state-of-the-art advanced gate driver techniques for enhancing the reliability of IGBT modules, hence power converters. The course contents can be summarized in general switching theory, modern gate driving strategies, active thermal control, detection, and protection methods.

L1: Basic IGBT gate driving concepts 

1. Voltage-source gate drivers 
2. Current-source gate drivers 
3. Optimization and protection principles 

L2: Fault detection and protection methods 

1. Voltage and current overshoot 
2. Overload and short circuit 
3. Gate voltage limitation 

L3: Active gating methods for enhancing switching characteristics 

1. Closed-loop control methodology 
2. Closed-loop control implementations 

L4: Active thermal control methods using IGBT gate driver 

1. Principles for thermal mitigation method 
2. Thermal mitigation methods 
3. Junction temperature estimation methods 

Prerequisites: 

Basic knowledge of power device and power converter operation.

Form of evaluation: 

The participants will be grouped in teams of 4-5 people and asked to design an original gate driver for a given application. Students will be asked to give a brief presentation at the end of the course, with a final evaluation of the individual contribution.