Gate control of power semiconductor devices using reduced gate drivers is disclosed. A circuit breaker may include a multitude of transistors, such as insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), connected in series with one another. Each transistor may be connected to a respective gate resistor. Diodes may be connected between various gate resistors. One or more resistor-capacitor (RC) snubber circuits may be provided in parallel with one or more of the transistors. Likewise, one or more metal-oxide varistors (MOVs) may be connected in parallel to one or more of the transistors. A gate driver (e.g., a single gate drive) may be connected to the one or more diodes and an emitter of at least one of transistors.

A serial IGBT voltage equalization method and system based on an auxiliary voltage source is disclosed. The method includes the following steps. (1) Detect a port dynamic voltage of each serial IGBT. (2) Perform dynamic overvoltage diagnosis respectively on the port dynamic voltage of each IGBT. (3) Supply emergency high level signal to the gate of the IGBT when there is dynamic overvoltage. (4) Stop supplying emergency high level signal to the gate of the IGBT, supply a constant voltage at the gate of the IGBT through the auxiliary voltage source. The invention provides a constant voltage through the auxiliary voltage source, prolongs the off time of the faulty IGBT, and turns off other IGBTs simultaneously, thereby achieving the purpose of serial IGBT voltage equalization.

Aspects of the invention relate to a high-power switching module for the direct pulse energy feeding of a consumer with a plurality of switching stages connected in series. A coupling element and an energy buffer store are provided, the coupling element coupling a primary circuit comprising a balancing capacitance and a semiconductor switch to a secondary circuit comprising the energy buffer store, the coupling element being provided and embodied for obtaining energy of the balancing capacitance and delivering this energy to the energy buffer store during the on phase of the semiconductor switch, and the energy buffer store being provided and embodied for delivering the obtained energy to an energy store of the driver assembly when the semiconductor switch is in the switched-off state.

A gate voltage control/gate resistance changing circuit (21) is accommodated in the same package (P1) as a switching element (11), and outputs a driving signal to the switching element (11) to control turning on and off of the switching element (11). When an external signal is input from outside of the package (P1) to a terminal (3c) of the package (P1), a changing unit (221) accommodated in the package (P1) changes the switching speed of the switching element (11) based on the signal.

According to the present disclosure, a bidirectional switch circuit includes a first semiconductor device including a first backside electrode electrically connected to a first pattern and a first upper surface electrode, a second semiconductor device including a second backside electrode electrically connected to a second pattern and a second upper surface electrode, a first diode including a first cathode electrode electrically connected to the first pattern and a first anode electrode, a second diode including a second cathode electrode electrically connected to the first pattern and a second anode electrode, first wiring electrically connecting the first upper surface electrode and the second anode electrode and second wiring electrically connecting the second upper surface electrode and the first anode electrode, wherein the first upper surface electrode, the second upper surface electrode, the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode are electrically connected to each other.

A vehicle powertrain includes an IGBT and a gate driver. The IGBT is configured to energize an electric machine. The gate driver is configured to apply an off voltage less than a threshold voltage onto a gate of the IGBT while the IGBT is operating in a saturation mode, and in response to expiration of a delay from a transition from saturation to linear mode, apply a voltage pulse above the off voltage to reduce flyback from the electric machine. The gate driver may be configured to, in response to expiration of a delay from a transition from saturation to linear mode, apply a voltage pulse above the off voltage and below the threshold to reduce flyback from the electric machine.

We describe a system for controlling very large numbers of power semiconductor switching devices (132) to switch in synchronization. The devices are high power devices, for example carrying hundreds of amps and/or voltages of the order of kilovolts. In outline the system comprises a coordinating control system (110, 120), which communicates with a plurality of switching device controllers (130) to control the devices into a plurality of states including a fully-off state, a saturated-on state, and at least one intermediate state between the fully-off and saturated-on states, synchronizing the devices in the at least one intermediate state during switching.

A switch circuit includes n switching elements (n≥2) connected in series between an input node and an output node. A control device is configured to convert DC power in a power storage device into AC power synchronized with AC power supplied from an AC power supply during a normal state and supply the AC power to the output node, by controlling a power converter, when an abnormality of at least one of the AC power supply and the switch circuit is sensed in a state where the control device outputs conduction commands for the n switching elements. The control device is further configured to produce cutoff commands for cutting off the n switching elements during execution of power conversion in the power converter, and sense a cutoff abnormality of the switch circuit based on terminal-to-terminal voltages of the n switching elements during production of the cutoff commands.

A DC-DC voltage converter including a main switch formed by a normally ON switch element connected in series with a normally OFF switch element including a control circuit, a load in series with the main switch, the main switch and the load being configured to be connected to terminals of a DC voltage source. A voltage source, that can be used for controlling is obtained by connecting a main peak detector circuit to the mid-point of the main switch. The control circuit of the normally OFF switch element can be supplied with the DC voltage that makes the entire device self-supplied. Such a converter can, for example, find application in aeronautics.

A circuit arrangement includes a plurality of switch assemblies connected in series, each provided with a parallel circuit of three assembly components, in which a first assembly component is a semiconductor switch, a second assembly component is a freewheeling diode, and a third assembly component is a surge arrester. The assembly components are disposed one above the other or next to one another as an assembly component stack, the three assembly components of each switch assembly are disposed in the assembly component stack in a consecutive manner. Each two adjacent assembly components are electrically connected to one another by a direct connection. A power converter module and a method for operating a power converter module are also provided.