Research On IGBT Driver IC With Low Switching Loss Technology

As one of popular switching devices in power electronics, IGBT is mainly used in high frequency switching devices. With the increase of working frequency, the switching loss of IGBT becomes serious due to parasitic inductance. Therefore, how to optimize the design of IGBT gate drive circuit to reduce the switching loss has become a key component of IGBT applications technology. A new driving method for IGBT which operates under high frequency was presented in this paper, based on detailed analysis of IGBT operation and the mechanism of switching loss. This drive circuit was designed to reduce switching loss of IGBT by a feedback loop which could adjust the driving current of IGBT dynamically. Main contents of the dissertation are listed below:The basic working principle of IGBT and the change of device parameters during switching turn-on and turn-off process is analyzed in detail. And main parameters of the IGBT drive circuit are obtained by considering the switching loss generation mechanism.According to the requirements and parameters of IGBT driving method, the gate drive circuit based on CMOS process has been presented, which could shorten the duration of current charging and discharging and reduce the delay between input and output signals, aiming to reduce IGBT switching loss. This drive circuit contains function modules such as the input interface circuit, the voltage level-shifting circuit, the driving unit and output signal feedback loop.The IGBT drive circuit is validated by Cadence Virtuoso simulation and experiments. Besides that, the result of chip test also proves that this drive circuit can reduce switching loss of IGBT effectively.