Compensation circuit, commutation cell and power converter controlling turn-on and turn-off of a power electronic switch

• US 9,768,693 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2014
• Issued: 09/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dana TM4, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tm4 Inc. (Dana, Inc.)
• Inventors: Amar, Mohammed, Cyr, Jean-Marc, El Yacoubi, Maalainine, Fleury, Pascal
• Primary Examiner(s): Dole, Timothy J
• Assistant Examiner(s): AHMED, YUSEF A
• Application Number:
  US15/036,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20160301308A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,048 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0009 Devices or circuits for detecting current in a converter
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0058 by employing soft switching techniques, i.e. commutation of transistors when applied voltage is zero or when current flow is zero using an auxiliary actively switched resonant commutation circuit connected to an intermediate DC voltage or between two push-pull branches of an inverter bridge H02M7/4811; in resonant inverters H02M7/4815; in inverters operating from a resonant DC source H02M7/4826
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/08 Circuits specially adapted for the generation of control voltages for semiconductor devices incorporated in static converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/155 using semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/158 including plural semiconductor devices as final control devices for a single load
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/335 using semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/537 using semiconductor devices only, e.g. single switched pulse inverters
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/0828 in composite switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/165 by feedback from the output circuit to the control circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/168 in composite switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/0027 Measuring means of, e.g. currents through or voltages across the switch
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/10 Technologies improving the efficiency by using switched-mode power supplies [SMPS], i.e. efficient power electronics conversion e.g. power factor correction or reduction of losses in power supplies or efficient standby modes

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a compensation circuit for independently controlling turn-on and turn-off of a power electronic switch through a gate driver. The compensation circuit includes a circuit path sampling a first portion of a voltage induced across an inductance of the power electronic switch at turn-on. Another circuit path samples a second portion of the voltage induced across the inductance of the power electronic switch at turn-off. The compensation circuit further includes a gate driver reference connection configured to respectively supply the sampled portions of the voltage during turn-on and turn-off of the power electronic switch. A compensation circuit controlling a first power electronic switch in parallel with a second power electronic switch, a commutation cell and a power converter having a pair of parallel legs, in which each power electronic switch is provided with the compensation circuit, are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A compensation circuit for independently controlling turn-on and turn-off of a power electronic switch through a gate driver having a gate driver reference connection the compensation circuit comprising:

a first circuit path configured to sample a first portion of a voltage induced across an inductance of the power electronic switch at turn-on of the power electronic switch, the first circuit path including first and second resistors connected in series and across the inductance, and a turn-on diode connected between a junction of the first and second resistors and the gate driver reference connection the turn-on diode being non-conductive during turn-off; and

a second circuit path configured to sample a second portion of the voltage induced across the inductance of the power electronic switch at turn-off of the power electronic switch, the second circuit path including third and fourth resistors connected in series and across the inductance and a turn-off diode connected between a junction of the third and fourth resistors and the gate driver reference connection the turn-off diode being non-conductive during turn-on,

wherein the gate driver reference connection is configured to respectively supply the first and second portions of the voltage during turn-on and turn-off of the power electronic switch.

2. The compensation circuit of claim 1, wherein the inductance is a parasitic inductance of the power electronic switch.

3. A compensation circuit for independently controlling turn-on and turn-off of a first power electronic switch that is placed in parallel with a second power electronic switch, the control being done through a gate driver having a gate driver reference connection the compensation circuit comprising:

a first circuit path configured to sample a first portion of a voltage induced across an inductance of the first power electronic switch at turn-on of the first power electronic switch, the first circuit path including first and second resistors connected in series and across the inductance, and a turn-on diode connected between a junction of the first and second resistors and the gate driver reference connection the turn-on diode being non-conductive during turn-off; and

a second circuit path configured to sample a second portion of the voltage induced across the inductance of the first power electronic switch at turn-off of the first power electronic switch, the second circuit path including third and fourth resistors connected in series and across the inductance, and a turn-off diode connected between a junction of the third and fourth resistors and the gate driver reference connection, the turn-off diode being non-conductive during turn-on

wherein the gate driver reference connection is configured to respectively supply the first and second portions of the voltage during turn-on and turn-off of the first power electronic switch.

4. The compensation circuit of claim 3, wherein the inductance is a parasitic inductance of the first power electronic switch.

5. A commutation cell configured for limiting switching overvoltage, comprising:

a power electronic switch having a parasitic inductance through which a voltage is generated upon turning on and off of the power electronic switch; and

a compensation circuit for independently controlling turn-on and turn-off of the power electronic switch through a gate driver having a reference connection, the compensation circuit comprising;

a first circuit path configured to sample a first portion of a voltage induced across an inductance of the power electronic switch at turn-on of the power electronic switch the first circuit path including first and second resistors connected in series and across the inductance and a turn-on diode connected between a junction of the first and second resistors and the gate driver reference connection the turn-on diode being non-conductive during turn-off; and

a second circuit path configured to sample a second portion of the voltage induced across the inductance of the power electronic switch at turn-off of the power electronic switch the second circuit path including third and fourth resistors connected in series and across the inductance and a turn-off diode connected between a junction of the third and fourth resistors and the gate driver reference connection the turn-off diode being non-conductive during turn-on,

wherein the gate driver reference connection configured to respectively supply the first and second portions of the voltage during turn-on and turn-off of the power electronic switch, and

wherein the compensation circuit is connected to the parasitic inductance.

6. The commutation cell of claim 5, wherein the compensation circuit applies samples of the voltage generated through the parasitic inductance using different gains at turn-on and at turn-off of the power electronic switch.

7. The commutation cell of claim 5, wherein the power electronic switch is selected from an isolated gate bipolar transistor a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor and a bipolar transistor.

8. The commutation cell of claim 5, comprising a freewheel diode operating in tandem with the power electronic switch.

9. The commutation cell of claim 5, wherein the gate driver is connected to the compensation circuit at the gate driver reference connection and wherein the gate driver is also connected to a gate of the power electronic switch the gate driver controlling a gate to emitter voltage applied to the power electronic switch.

10. The commutation cell of claim 9, comprising a turn-on resistor and a turn-off resistor separately connecting the gate driver to the gate of the power electronic switch.

11. The commutation cell of claim 9, wherein the parasitic inductance is a parasitic emitter inductance.

12. The commutation cell of claim 9, wherein the power electronic switch is placed in parallel with another power electronic switch.

13. The commutation cell of claim 5, wherein the parasitic inductance is a parasitic emitter inductance.

14. The commutation cell of claim 5, wherein the power electronic switch is placed in parallel with another power electronic switch.

15. A power converter, comprising:

a pair of parallel legs, each leg having a pair of power electronic switches connected in series, each power electronic switch being provided with a compensation circuit for independently controlling turn-on and turn-off of each power electronic switch each compensation circuit comprising;

a first circuit path configured to sample a first portion of a voltage induced across an inductance of the power electronic switch at turn-on of the power electronic switch the first circuit path including first and second resistors connected in series and across the inductance and a turn-on diode connected between a junction of the first and second resistors and a gate driver reference connection the turn-on diode being non-conductive during turn-off; and

a second circuit path configured to sample a second portion of the voltage induced across the inductance of the power electronic switch at turn-off of the power electronic switch the second circuit path including third and fourth resistors connected in series and across the inductance, and a turn-off diode connected between a junction of the third and fourth resistors and the gate driver reference connection, the turn-off diode being non-conductive during turn-on; and

a gate driver having the gate driver reference connection configured to respectively supply the first and second portions of the voltage during turn-on and turn-off of the power electronic switch.

16. The power converter of claim 15, wherein each of the compensation circuits is configured to control turn-on and turn-off of a corresponding power electronic switch.

17. The power converter of claim 15, wherein the compensation circuit is connected to a parasitic inductance.

18. The power converter of claim 15, wherein each pair of parallelized power electronic switches are selected from a same manufacturing batch.

19. The power converter of claim 15, wherein all power electronic switches are selected from a same manufacturing batch.