With a higher power rating and broader application, Gallium nitride (GaN) is a promising next-generation power switch. The current four GaN HEMTs in paralleled phase leg that can block 400 V and conduct 200 A current is very beneficial, thus making the protection method on a GaN phase leg an urgent topic. This thesis starts with an overview of shortcircuit robustness among silicon (Si), silicon carbide (SiC) and GaN devices. An approximately safe operation area (SOA) for a GaN power switch will also be determined. The various common shortcircuit protection methods are mentioned. Additionally, current research on a GaN semiconductor is summarized. Among all of the protection methods, desaturation detection is selected and analyzed through simulation and then implemented in a parallel enhancement-mode high-electron-mobility transistor (E-HEMT) GaN phase leg. With this desaturation detection feature, the GaN E-HEMT can be turned off as quickly as 200 ns, and in the worst case, 500 ns, during a shortcircuit test. The phase leg survived a series of shortcircuit tests with shortcircuit protection. For the proposed protection scheme, the best-case reaction time (200 ns) is similar to others in the literature, while the shortcircuit peak current and peak energy are higher. The worst-case performance of this design is limited by both the gate driver and the device shortcircuit robustness. Due to the fast switching speed of the GaN HEMT, the false turn-on phenomenon caused by the Miller effect can be a problem. A shoot through may occur with one switch false turn on. The Miller clamp is added to the phase leg to improve its reliability. After the hardware was implemented, the Miller clamp was tested and verified through a double pulse test (DPT). Compared to the phase leg without the Miller clamp, the gate is better protected from gate voltage overshoot and undershoot. The switching loss is reduced by 20 percent by using a new gate driver IC with higher current driving capability. The degradation effect of GaN power switches in different shortcircuit pulses was also studied. The device passes through the shortcircuit tests, but any degradation effect that may change its parameters and influence its normal operation characteristic need to be addressed. Several GaN devices were selected and characterized after several shortcircuit tests to observe any degradation effect caused by the shortcircuit. The degradation test results reveal a "recovery effect" of the GaN HEMT used in this project. The parameter variations on threshold voltage and on-resistance recover to the original state, several hours after the shortcircuit test. The test results match with the conclusion drawn in degradation test conducts by other research groups that the parameter variation during shortcircuit test is negligible. Also, repetitively fast shortcircuit tests on the GaN HEMT show that the shortcircuit protection limit for this device under 400 V bus should be limited to 300 ns. / Master of Science / A phase leg consists of two power switches: a top switch and a bottom switch. As a result of a wrong gate signal or the Miller effect, shoot through problems may occur that lead to a shortcircuit current running through the channel. The excessive heat brought by the shortcircuit current will kill the device if not turned off in time. The failure of the phase leg may also have a hazardous impact on the rest of the system. To improve the overall system stability, a shortcircuit protection feature can be added on the gate-drive level. The shortcircuit protection turns off the device when it runs into shortcircuit mode, and before device failure. In this thesis, desaturation detection is selected to implement on a paralleled Gallium nitride (GaN) phase leg based on the device characteristic and configuration. Desaturation detection takes the device under test (DUT) as a current sensing component. By sensing the voltage across the DUT, the desaturation detection decides whether the DUT is operating under shortcircuit. If it is, a signal is sent to the gate driver to turn off the DUT when high voltage is sensed. A series of shortcircuit tests were conducted to verify the function of shortcircuit protection. A Miller clamp is also implemented and tested on the same phase leg to prevent a false turn on problem and to protect the gate. Both the Miller clamp and desaturation v detection features are tested on the same phase leg. The GaN devices survive the shortcircuit tests, with shortcircuit protection times between 200 ns to 500 ns. The design is successfully validated. Along with the implemented protection features, device degradation and shortcircuit robustness tests are also included in this work. The test results show that 300 ns shortcircuit time under 400 V bus is a safe turn off goal for this device.

Certaines applications haute température telles que le forage, l’aéronautique ou l’aérospatial, amènent à repenser la conception des alimentations isolées permettant la commande des éléments de puissance. Ce mémoire s’articule autour de l’étude de la faisabilité et de l’enfouissement d’un convertisseur isolé possédant une forte isolation statique (10kV) et dynamique (<10 pF), pouvant travailler sous de hautes températures (>250°C), dans les gammes de tension de sortie de la dizaine de volts et de puissance de l’ordre du Watt. Pour ne pas être contraint par la température de Curie d’un matériau magnétique, cette alimentation DC/DC se base sur un transformateur à air. Dans un premier temps, cette thèse détaille l’origine, la mesure et l’estimation des éléments du modèle électrique choisi pour le transformateur. Ensuite, afin de maximiser la transmission de puissance, nous constituons un système résonnant en ajoutant des condensateurs en parallèle ou en série avec le transformateur, puis nous développons une méthode permettant d’accorder l’ensemble. La comparaison entre les topologies nous amène ensuite à choisir compensation série-série. Puis nous constatons que la technologie choisie pour les condensateurs, la contrainte d’isolation statique et dynamique peuvent diviser par plus de deux la puissance transmise au travers d’une surface. Enfin, nous abordons comment redresser et réguler la tension de sortie sans affecter la résonnance ou l’isolation apportée, tout en minimisant les pertes générées. Une dernière partie montre que, moyennant un système de dissipation un processus de fabrication adapté, il est possible d’intégrer la structure complète sur silicium / High temperature applications such as deep drilling, aeronautics or aerospace, lead to rework the isolated power supplies used for the control of the power elements. This work study the feasibility of an embedded converter with high static (10kV) and dynamic (<10 pF) insulation, able to work under high temperatures (> 250 ° C), in the ranges of dozens volts for the output voltage and several Watt of transmitted power. To avoid being constrained by a magnetic material Curie temperature of, we use a coreless transformer based DC/DC power supply. First of all, this thesis details the origin, the measurement and the estimation of the elements of the chosen transformer electric model. Then, to maximize the transferred power, we form a resonant structure by adding capacitors in parallel or in series with the transformer, then we develop a method to tune the whole. The comparison between the topologies leads us to choose a serial-serial compensation. Then we note that the technology chosen for capacitors, the static and dynamic insulation constraint can divide by more than two the power transmitted through a surface. Finally, we discuss how to rectify and regulate the output voltage without affecting the resonance or insulation provided, while minimizing the losses generated. A last part exhibit that with a suitable dissipation system and manufacturing process, it is possible to integrate the complete structure on silicon chips

Ces travaux de thèse portent sur l'intégration hétérogène des fonctions de commande pour des transistors de puissance verticaux à grille isolée. Ce travail a consisté en la conception des fonctions de commande pour un transistor de type MOSFET en technologie CMOS planar, puis en la conception du composant de puissance lui-même, incluant des fonctions spécifiques pour l'auto-alimentation de sa commande. Le deuxième aspect de ce travail est l'étude et la réalisation technologique de métallisations épaisses en surface de puces silicium pour l'hybridation en chip on chip de la partie commande et de la partie puissance. Ce mémoire de thèse comporte trois chapitres équivalents : études théoriques et présentation des concepts, conception et validation expérimentale de la partie commande puis conception de la partie puissance et développements technologiques. Les champs d'application de ces travaux sont variés car ils couvrent un large domaine de l'électronique de puissance (convertisseurs hybrides). / The work presented in this PhD manuscript deals with heterogeneous integration of the control functions for driving a vertical power MOSFET. This work consisted in the design of the driving functions for a vertical power MOSFET in a planar CMOS technology, then in the design of the power transistor itself, including specific functions for the self powering of its driving circuitry. The second aspect of this work was the technological study and realization of thick metallization at the surface of silicon dies for the chip on chip assembly of the control and the power parts. This manuscript is composed of three equal chapters: the theoretical study and concepts presentation, the design and experimental validation of the driver part, and the design of the power part and the technological realizations. The field of application of this work covers a large spectrum as it concerns every hybrid converter

This thesis proposes control circuit, that will be used in laboratory stand. The first part contains components that interact with the control circuit. The second part deals with the actual design of the control circuits, their design, appropriate selection of components and wiring. Third part deals with the assembly of the entire device and its commissioning.

Wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium-nitride (GaN) allow higher voltage ratings, lower on-state voltage drops, higher switching frequencies, and higher maximum temperatures. All these advantages make them an attractive choice when high-power density and high-efficiency converters are targeted. Two different gate-driver designs for SiC power devices are presented. First, a dual-function gate-driver for a power module populated with SiC junction field-effect transistors that finds a trade-off between fast switching speeds and a low oscillative performance has been presented and experimentally verified. Second, a gate-driver for SiC metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors with a short-circuit protection scheme that is able to protect the converter against short-circuit conditions without compromising the switching performance during normal operation is presented and experimentally validated. The benefits and issues of using parallel-connection as the design strategy for high-efficiency and high-power converters have been presented. In order to evaluate parallel connection, a 312 kVA three-phase SiC inverter with an efficiency of 99.3 % has been designed, built, and experimentally verified. If parallel connection is chosen as design direction, an undesired trade-off between reliability and efficiency is introduced. A reliability analysis has been performed, which has shown that the gate-source voltage stress determines the reliability of the entire system. Decreasing the positive gate-source voltage could increase the reliability without significantly affecting the efficiency. If high-temperature applications are considered, relatively little attention has been paid to passive components for harsh environments. This thesis also addresses high-temperature operation. The high-temperature performance of two different designs of inductors have been tested up to 600_C. Finally, a GaN power field-effect transistor was characterized down to cryogenic temperatures. An 85 % reduction of the on-state resistance was measured at −195_C. Finally, an experimental evaluation of a 1 kW singlephase inverter at low temperatures was performed. A 33 % reduction in losses compared to room temperature was achieved at rated power. / <p>QC 20160922</p>

Le projet de cette thèse est de réaliser un convertisseur DC/DC isolé à haute fréquence de découpage basé sur la mise en œuvre de composants en GaN. Le but est d'augmenter très fortement les densité de puissance commutées par rapport aux solutions actuelles. Cette thèse mets en oeuvre les composants GaN afin de déterminer les meilleurs conditions de fonctionnement possible. Une fois les points critiques mis en avant, on étudie les structures de circuit de commande adapté pour les HEMT GaN d'EPC et un circuit intégré pour la commande est étudié et mis en oeuvre. Le layout global de la carte a un rôle important en termes d'intégration et d'optimisation CEM, il est donc discuté et des règles de routage sont proposées. Enfin, on étudie plusieurs structures de puissance et on les met en oeuvre pour vérifier le bon fonctionnement et le respect du cahier des charges. / This study consist in the development of a high frequency insulated DC/DC converter based on GaN power devices. The goal is to increase significantly the power density in comparison with actual converter solutions. This thesis evaluate the GaN components performances to determine the best working conditions. Once the critical points highlighted, gate circuit topologies suitable for EPC GaN HEMT are studied and an integrated IC is designed and implemented. The overall layout of the card has an important role in terms of integration and EMC optimization, so it is discussed and routing rules are proposed. Finally, we study several power structures and implement them to verify proper operation and their compliance with specifications.

This report covers the construction of a prototype inverter system designed to power the rail of a maglev train, from component selection through simulations and power demands to mounting and wiring the components into a cabinet. The inverter is made with insulated gate bipolar transistors controlled with pulse-width modulated signals provided by a custom microcontroller. The output of the inverter is a controllable three-phase square wave. The prototype was tested with a microcontroller designed for a different gate driver, making it necessary to design and create an adapter to be able to test it. The results showed that an inverter of two-level topology, together with capacitors, is a viable option for a 10 kHz switching frequency. / Denna rapporten täcker konstruktionen av en prototyp till en inverter topologi designad för att driva rälsen till ett maglevtåg. Från komponentval genom simulering och kapacitetskrav, till montering och sladdragning av komponenterna in i ett skåp. Invertern är gjort med bipolär-transistorer med isolerat syre (IGBTer) som styrs med en pulsbreddsmodulerad signal försedd av en egendesignad mikrokontroller. Utsignalen från invertern är en styrbar trefas fyrkantsvåg. Prototypen skulle testas med en mikrokontroller designad för en annan gate driver, därför var det nödvändigt att designa och producera ett adapterkort för att kunna köra testerna. Resultated visade att en två-level inverter, tillsammans med kondensatorer, är en genomförbar lösning för 10 kHz switchingfrekvens.

This work investigates the voltage scaling feasibility of several low voltage SiC MOSFET modules operated as a single series-connected switch using active gate control. Both multilevel and two-level topologies are capable of achieving higher blocking voltages in high-power converter applications. Compared to multilevel topologies, two-level switching topologies are of interest due to less complex circuitry, higher density, and simpler control techniques. In this work, to balance the voltage between series-connected MOSFETs, device turn-off speeds are dynamically controlled on active gate-drivers using active gate control. The implementation of the active gate control technique (specifically, turn-off dv/dt control) is described in this thesis. Experimental results of the voltage balancing behavior across eight 1.7 kV rated SiC MOSFET devices in series (6 kV total dc bus voltage) with the selected active dv/dt control scheme are demonstrated. Finally, the voltage balancing performance and switching behavior of series-connected SiC MOSFET devices are discussed. / Master of Science / According to ABB, 40% of the world's power demand is supplied by electrical energy. Specifically, in 2018, the world's electrical demand has grown by 4% since 2010. The growing need for electric energy makes it increasingly essential for systems that can efficiently and reliably convert and control energy levels for various end applications, such as electric motors, electric vehicles, data centers, and renewable energy systems. Power electronics are systems by which electrical energy is converted to different levels of power (voltage and current) depending on the end application. The use of power electronics systems is critical for controlling the flow of electrical energy in all applications of electric energy generation, transmission, and distribution. Advances in power electronics technologies, such as new control techniques and manufacturability of power semiconductor devices, are enabling improvements to the overall performance of electrical energy conversion systems. Power semiconductor devices, which are used as switches or rectifiers in various power electronic converters, are a critical building block of power electronic systems. In order to enable higher output power capability for converter systems, power semiconductor switches are required to sustain higher levels of voltage and current. Wide bandgap semiconductor devices are a particular new category of power semiconductors that have superior material properties compared to traditional devices such as Silicon (Si) Insulated-Gate Bipolar Junction Transistors (IGBTs). In particular, wide bandgap devices such as Silicon Carbide (SiC) Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) have better ruggedness and thermal capabilities. These properties provide wide bandgap semiconductor devices to operate at higher temperatures and switching frequencies, which is beneficial for maximizing the overall efficiency and volume of power electronic converters. This work investigates a method of scaling up voltage in particular for medium-voltage power conversion, which can be applied for a variety of application areas. SiC MOSFET devices are becoming more attractive for utilization in medium-voltage high-power converter systems due to the need to further improve the efficiency and density of these systems. Rather than using individual high voltage rated semiconductor devices, this thesis demonstrates the effectiveness of using several low voltage rated semiconductor devices connected in series in order to operate them as a single switch. Using low voltage devices as a single series-connected switch rather than a using single high voltage switch can lead to achieving a lower total on-state resistance, expectedly maximizing the overall efficiency of converter systems for which the series-connected semiconductor switches would be applied. In particular, this thesis focuses on the implementation of a newer approach of compensating for the natural unbalance in voltage between series-connected devices. An active gate control method is used for monitoring and regulating the switching speed of several devices operated in series in this work. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the feasibility of this method in order to achieve up to 6 kV total dc bus voltage using eight series-connected SiC MOSFET devices.

This works focusesof the propose and realization device for drive four quadrant bridge convertor with transistors IGBT. Final propose include drive unipolar and bipolar, choice between direct or alternative modulation.

This work presents different novel gate drive unit (GDU) concepts for IGBT and reverse conducting IGBT (RC-IGBT). They have been experimentally tested with medium voltage class IGBT modules (1200...1700V/650…1400A) and a RC-IGBT module (1200V/200A). The switching behaviour of the RC-IGBT was investigated, and a new trigger pulse pattern to drive the RC-IGBT was developed, designed and implemented. The experimental results showed that the switching losses were reduced by 20% in the RC-IGBT compared to the switching losses of a standard diode. Two novel schemes are introduced to estimate the collector current through the IGBT, based on the measurement of the voltage across the internal stray inductance of the IGBT module. Furthermore, a GDU concept was derived to balance the on-state collector currents of parallel-connected IGBTs, reducing the current imbalance to 5%. Also, a new fast short circuit protection method (FSCP) for IGBT modules was developed, designed and implemented in another GDU, allowing turning-off the considered IGBT in less than 1μs, reducing the IGBT stress. Another scheme implemented in a GDU features an improved gate current switching profile of the IGBT, which reduces the switching losses by 25% compared to the standard switching method. In order to reduce the conduction losses, a GDU with an increased turn-on gate-emitter voltage (larger than 20 V) was investigated. In the investigated IGBT, the on-state losses were reduced by 18% when a gate-emitter voltage of 35V is used compared to when a gate-emitter voltage of 15V is used. All these new GDU concepts have been implemented with a simple and inexpensive electronic circuitry, which is an important feature for a possible industrial implementation.