POWER CONVERSION APPARATUS

Abstract

A power conversion apparatus includes a semiconductor module including a semiconductor device and a control circuit unit controlling the semiconductor module. The semiconductor module has main and subsidiary semiconductor devices connected in parallel. The control circuit unit performs control such that the subsidiary semiconductor device is turned on after the main semiconductor device is turned on, and the main semiconductor device is turned off after the subsidiary semiconductor device is turned off. The control circuit unit performs control such that, one of the turn-on and turn-off switching timings has a switching speed faster than that of the other of the switching timings. The semiconductor module is configured such that, at a high-speed switching timing, an induction current directed to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device is generated in a control terminal of the subsidiary semiconductor device depending on temporal change of a main current flowing to the main semiconductor device.

Claims

1. A power conversion apparatus comprising: a semiconductor module including a semiconductor device; and a control circuit unit that controls switching operation of the semiconductor module, wherein the semiconductor module has a main semiconductor device and a subsidiary semiconductor device connected in parallel to each other as the semiconductor device, the control circuit unit performs control such that the subsidiary semiconductor device is turned on after the main semiconductor device is turned on, and the main semiconductor device is turned off after the subsidiary semiconductor device is turned off, the control circuit unit performs control such that, out of two switching timings including a turn-on timing at which the main semiconductor device is switched from an off-state to an on-state and a turn-off timing at which the main semiconductor device is switched from an on-state to an off-state, one of the switching timings has a switching speed faster than that of the other of the switching timings, the semiconductor module is configured such that, at a high-speed switching timing having a fast switching speed, an induction current directed to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device is generated in a control terminal of the subsidiary semiconductor device depending on a temporal change of a main current flowing to the main semiconductor device.

2. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor module is configured such that, at the high-speed switching timing, an induction current having the same direction as that of a control current flowing from the control circuit unit to the control terminal is generated in the control terminal of the main semiconductor device depending on a temporal change of the main current flowing to the main semiconductor device.

3. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main semiconductor device is an IGBT, and the subsidiary semiconductor device is a MOSFET.

4. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the MOSFET is formed of a wide bandgap semiconductor.

5. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor module has a main reference terminal connected to a reference electrode of the main semiconductor device as the control terminal, and a subsidiary reference terminal connected to a reference electrode of the subsidiary semiconductor device, and the main reference terminal and the subsidiary reference terminal are formed to be adjacent to each other.

6. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the subsidiary semiconductor device is arranged on a path through which the main current of the main semiconductor device flows when seen in a thickness direction of the subsidiary semiconductor device.

7. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein two semiconductor device pairs each having the main semiconductor device and the subsidiary semiconductor device are connected in series to each other, the control circuit unit has a short-circuit protection circuit configured to turn off any one of the semiconductor device of an upper arm side and the semiconductor device of a lower arm side when the semiconductor device of the other arm side is short-circuited, and the semiconductor module is configured such that an induction current directed to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device is generated in the control terminal of the subsidiary semiconductor device depending on the temporal change of the main current flowing to the main semiconductor device when the main semiconductor device is turned off.

8. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit unit includes a driving circuit that drives the main semiconductor device and the subsidiary semiconductor device, and the control circuit unit is configured such that the main semiconductor device and the subsidiary semiconductor device connected in parallel to each other are driven by using the same driving circuit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] In the accompanying drawings:

[0010] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor module according to a first embodiment when a main semiconductor device is turned on;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the semiconductor module according to the first embodiment when the main semiconductor device is turned off;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating the semiconductor module according to the first embodiment when the main semiconductor device is turned on;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram illustrating the semiconductor module according to the first embodiment when the main semiconductor device is turned off;

[0014] FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram illustrating the main semiconductor device and a subsidiary semiconductor device according to the first embodiment;

[0015] FIG. 6 illustrates current-voltage characteristics of the main semiconductor device and the subsidiary semiconductor device according to the first embodiment at room temperature;

[0016] FIG. 7 illustrates current-voltage characteristics of the main semiconductor device and the subsidiary semiconductor device according to the first embodiment at a high temperature;

[0017] FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram illustrating a power conversion apparatus according to the first embodiment;

[0018] FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram illustrating a part of the semiconductor module according to the first embodiment along with a driving circuit;

[0019] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor module provided with only one main semiconductor device and only one subsidiary semiconductor device according to the first embodiment;

[0020] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor module according to a second embodiment when a main semiconductor device is turned on;

[0021] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the semiconductor module according to the second embodiment when the main semiconductor device is turned off;

[0022] FIG. 13 is a waveform diagram illustrating a main semiconductor device and a subsidiary semiconductor device according to the second embodiment;

[0023] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor module according to a third embodiment when a main semiconductor device is turned on;

[0024] FIG. 15 is a circuit diagram illustrating a power conversion apparatus according to a fourth embodiment;

[0025] FIG. 16 is a circuit diagram illustrating a part of a semiconductor module according to a fifth embodiment along with a driving circuit when the main semiconductor device is turned on; and

[0026] FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram illustrating a part of the semiconductor module according to the fifth embodiment along with the driving circuit when the main semiconductor device is turned off.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] The power conversion apparatus may be an in-vehicle power conversion apparatus mounted on a vehicle such as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle.

First Embodiment

[0028] A power conversion apparatus according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the power converter 1 according to this embodiment includes a semiconductor module 2 including a semiconductor device 3 and a control circuit unit 4 that controls switching operation of the semiconductor module 2.

[0029] The semiconductor module 2 includes, as semiconductor devices 3, a main semiconductor device 3a and a subsidiary semiconductor device 3b connected in parallel to each other.

[0030] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the control circuit unit 4 performs control such that the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is turned on after the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on, and the main semiconductor device 3a is turned off after the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is turned off.

[0031] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the control circuit unit 4 performs control such that, out of two switching timings including a turn-on timing t.sub.on at which the main semiconductor device 3a is switched from an off-state to an on-state and a turn-off timing t.sub.off at which the main semiconductor device 3a is switched from an on-state to an off-state, one of the switching timings (in the present embodiment, the turn-on timing t.sub.on) has a switching speed faster than that of the other of the switching timings (in the present embodiment, the turn-off timing t.sub.off).

[0032] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the semiconductor module 2 according to this embodiment is configured such that, at a high-speed switching timing t.sub.f having a fast switching speed (turn-on timing t.sub.on), an induction current I.sub.Gb directed to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is generated in a control terminal 20 of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b depending on a temporal change (change with time, rate of change) di/dt of a main current i flowing to the main semiconductor device 3a.

[0033] The power conversion apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is an in-vehicle power conversion apparatus mounted on a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the power conversion apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of semiconductor modules 2. Each semiconductor module 2 has two semiconductor device pairs 29 each having the main semiconductor device 3a and the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. Such semiconductor device pairs 29 are connected in series to each other.

[0034] The control circuit unit 4 performs switching operation of the semiconductor device 3 (3a and 3b). As a result, DC power supplied from a DC power source 8 is converted into AC power. In addition, using the obtained AC power, an AC load 81 (three-phase AC motor) is driven. As a result, the vehicle is operated.

[0035] The main semiconductor device 3a according to this embodiment is an IGBT. In addition, the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is a MOSFET. More specifically, the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is a MOSFET formed of SiC (wide bandgap semiconductor).

[0036] FIG. 6 illustrates current-voltage characteristics of the MOSFET and the IGBT. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the MOSFET has an on-state resistance lower than that of the IGBT when a small electric current flows. For this reason, using the MOSFET, it is possible to lower the on-state resistance in a low current region. In addition, when a large current flows, the IGBT has an on-state resistance lower than that of the MOSFET. For this reason, using the IGBT, it is possible to lower the on-state resistance in a high current region. In this manner, using a combination of the MOSFET and IGBT, it is possible to reduce the on-state resistance of the semiconductor module 2 across a wide current range.

[0037] However, the on-state resistance of the MOSFET easily increases at a high temperature. As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the IGBT has a relatively low on-state resistance increase rate against a temperature increase. However, the MOSFET has a high on-state resistance increase rate. For this reason, when the MOSFET is employed, it is necessary to reduce a switching loss in the MOSFET and suppress temperature increase.

[0038] For this purpose, according to the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is turned on after the main semiconductor device 3a (IGBT) is turned on. In addition, the main semiconductor device 3a is turned off after the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is turned off. That is, the main semiconductor device 3a is necessarily in a turned on state when the subsidiary semiconductor device (MOSFET) is switched. As a result, it is possible to switch the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b while the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on, and a voltage V applied to the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is lowered. Therefore, while a switching loss P is generated in the main semiconductor device 3a, no switching loss P is generated in the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b in most cases. For this reason, it is possible to suppress temperature increase of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b.

[0039] Next, a structure of the semiconductor module 2 will be described in more details. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the semiconductor module 2 according to the present embodiment includes a main body including the semiconductor device 3, a power terminal 22 protruding from the main body 21, and a control terminal 20. The power terminal 22 includes a positive terminal 22p and a negative terminal 22N electrically connected to the DC power source 8 (refer to FIG. 8), and an AC terminal 22.sub.o electrically connected to an AC load 81. The control terminal 20 is connected to the control circuit unit 4.

[0040] The control terminal 20 includes a main reference terminal 20.sub.E connected to a reference electrode (emitter) of the main semiconductor device 3a, a main gate terminal 20.sub.Ga connected to the gate electrode of the main semiconductor device 3a, a subsidiary reference terminal 20.sub.S connected to the reference electrode (source) of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b, and a subsidiary gate terminal 20.sub.Gb connected to the gate electrode of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. The main reference terminal 20.sub.E and the subsidiary reference terminal 20.sub.S are formed so as to be adjacent to each other.

[0041] The control circuit unit 4 applies a voltage to the main gate terminal 20.sub.Ga with respect to the main reference terminal 20.sub.E. As a result, the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on. If a voltage is applied to the main gate terminal 20.sub.Ga, a gate capacitance is charged. For this reason, as soon as the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on, a gate current (control current I.sub.c) flows from the control circuit unit 4 to the main gate terminal 20.sub.Ga. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the control circuit unit 4 stops the voltage application to the main gate terminal 20.sub.Ga when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned off. In this case, electric charges accumulated in the gate capacitance are discharged, so that an electric current flows to the main gate terminal 20.sub.Ga.

[0042] As described above, according to the present embodiment, high-speed switching is performed when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on (refer to FIG. 5). When the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on, the control circuit unit 4 applies a voltage to the gate within a short time. As a result, the switching speed at the turn-on timing increases. In addition, when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned off, the control circuit unit 4 gradually lowers the voltage applied to the gate. As a result, the switching speed at the turn-off timing is reduced.

[0043] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, if the main semiconductor device 3a is switched from the off-state to the on-state, a main current i starts to flow between the collector and the emitter of the main semiconductor device 3a (IGBT). That is, the main current i is changed with time. Accordingly, a magnetic field H generated around the main current i is changed with time, so that the amount of the magnetic flux φ crossing between the control terminals 20.sub.Gb and 20.sub.S of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is changed with time. For this reason, an induction current I.sub.Gb is generated in the control terminals 20.sub.Gb and the 20.sub.S.

[0044] As described above, according to this embodiment, the switching speed is set to be fast when the main semiconductor device 3a is switched from an off-state to an on-state (at the turn-on timing). For this reason, a temporal change rate di/dt of the main current i increases, and a high induction current I.sub.Gb is easily generated in the control terminals 20.sub.Gb and 20.sub.S of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. However, the semiconductor module 2 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the induction current I.sub.Gb flows to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b in this case. For this reason, even when a high induction current I.sub.Gb flows, the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is not turned on. Therefore, the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is turned simultaneously with the main semiconductor device 3a, so that it is possible to suppress increase of the switching loss of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b.

[0045] As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, if the main semiconductor device 3a is switched from an on-state to an off-state, the main current i flowing between the collector and the emitter of the main semiconductor device 3a (IGBT) is cut off. For this reason, the main current i is changed with time. Therefore, similarly to a case where the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on, an induction current I.sub.Gb is generated in the control terminals 20.sub.Gb and 20.sub.S of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b.

[0046] In this case, the induction current I.sub.Gb flows oppositely compared with a case where the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on (at the high-speed switching timing). That is, the induction current I.sub.Gb flows to turn on the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. However, according to the present embodiment, when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned off, the switching speed of the main semiconductor device 3a is delayed (refer to FIG. 5). For this reason, it is possible to reduce the generated induction current I.sub.Gb and suppress the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b from turning on.

[0047] Next, a driving circuit 40 for making the semiconductor devices 3a and 3b perform switching operation will be described with reference to FIG. 9. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the control terminal 20 of the semiconductor device 3 is connected to the driving circuit 40. The driving circuit 40 is formed in the control circuit unit 4 (refer to FIG. 8). The driving circuit 40 has a voltage application unit 41 that applies a voltage to the gate of the semiconductor device 3, a plurality of gate resistors R, and a switch 42. The voltage application unit 41 applies a voltage to the gate with reference to a reference electrode (emitter or source) of the semiconductor device 3.

[0048] Two gate resistors R are interposed between the semiconductor devices 3a and 3b and the voltage application unit 41. The two gate resistors R are connected in parallel to each other to form a variable resistor 43 (43a and 43b). When the semiconductor devices 3a and 3b are turned on, the main switch 42a is turned on, and the subsidiary switch 42b is turned off. As a result, a voltage is applied to the gate of the semiconductor devices 3a and 3b while a resistance value of the main variable resistor 43a is small. Accordingly, since the resistance value of the main variable resistor 43a is small, the main semiconductor device 3a is rapidly turned on.

[0049] When the semiconductor devices 3a and 3b are turned off, the main switch 42a is turned off, and the subsidiary switch 42b is turned on. As a result, voltage application to the gate of the semiconductor devices 3a and 3b stops while the resistance value of the main variable resistor 43a is large. Accordingly, since the resistance value of the main variable resistor 43a is high, the switching speed is lowered compared with a case where the semiconductor devices 3a and 3b are turned on.

[0050] Next, functional effects of the present embodiment will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the control circuit unit 4 according to the present embodiment performs control such that, out of two switching timings t.sub.on and t.sub.off, one of the switching timings (t.sub.on in FIG. 5) has a switching speed faster than that of the other of the switching timings (t.sub.off in FIG. 5). As illustrated in FIG. 1, the semiconductor module 2 is configured such that, at the high-speed switching timing t.sub.f, an induction current I.sub.Gb directed to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is generated in the control terminals 20.sub.S and 20.sub.Gb of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b due to the temporal change di/dt of the main current i.

[0051] For this reason, at the high-speed switching timing t.sub.f, that is, when the temporal change rate di/dt of the main current i is high, and a large induction current I.sub.Gb is generated in the control terminals 20.sub.S and 20.sub.Gb of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b, it is possible to allow this induction current I.sub.Gb to flow to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b from being erroneously turned on.

[0052] If the aforementioned configuration is employed, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the induction current I.sub.Gb flows to the control terminals 20.sub.S and 20.sub.Gb of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b to turn on the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b at the switching timing having a relatively slow switching speed (low-speed switching timing t.sub.s, refer to FIG. 5). However, since the temporal change rate di/dt of the main current i is low at the low-speed switching timing t.sub.s, the induction current I.sub.Gb generated in the control terminals 20.sub.S and 20.sub.G of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is small. For this reason, at the low-speed switching timing t.sub.s, the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is not easily erroneously turned on by the induction current I.sub.Gb.

[0053] As illustrated in FIG. 1, as the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on, the main current i flowing to the main semiconductor device 3a is changed with time. Accordingly, the magnetic field H generated around the main current i is changed with time. For this reason, the magnetic flux φ crossing between the control terminals 20.sub.Ga and 20.sub.E of the main semiconductor device 3a is changed with time, and the induction current I.sub.Ga is generated in the control terminals 20.sub.Ga and 20.sub.E. This induction current I.sub.Ga flows in the same direction as that of the control current I.sub.C flowing from the control circuit unit 4 (refer to FIG. 8).

[0054] For this reason, it is possible to making the main semiconductor device 3a perform switching operation more rapidly. Therefore, it is possible to more reduce a switching loss of the main semiconductor device 3a.

[0055] The main semiconductor device 3a according to the present embodiment is an IGBT, and the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is a MOSFET.

[0056] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the MOSFET has a small on-state resistance in the low current region, and the IGBT has a small on-state resistance in the high current region. For this reason, by combining the IGBT and the MOSFET, it is possible to reduce the on-state resistance of the semiconductor module 2 across a wide current range.

[0057] The MOSFET according to the embodiment is formed of a wide bandgap semiconductor.

[0058] The MOSFET formed of a wide bandgap semiconductor has a particularly low on-state resistance. For this reason, by using this MOSFET, it is possible to particularly reduce the on-state resistance of the semiconductor module 2.

[0059] According to this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the subsidiary reference terminal 20.sub.S and the main reference terminal 20.sub.E are provided so as to be adjacent to each other.

[0060] For this reason, it is possible to make such reference terminals 20.sub.S and 20.sub.E close to each other and reduce a parasitic inductance between the reference terminals 20.sub.S and 20.sub.E. For this reason, such voltages, that is, the electric potential of the reference electrode (emitter) of the main semiconductor device 3a and the electric potential of the reference electrode (source) of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b can be approximately equal to each other. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the difference between voltages applied to gates of a pair of semiconductor devices 3a and 3b or suppress the voltages applied to the gates from oscillating.

[0061] As illustrated in FIG. 9, according to the present embodiment, the main semiconductor device 3a and the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b are driven by the same driving circuit 40.

[0062] For this reason, it is possible to reduce the number of the driving circuits 40 and lower a manufacturing cost of the power conversion apparatus 1.

[0063] As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a power conversion apparatus capable of suppressing an erroneous operation of the subsidiary semiconductor device.

[0064] Note that, according to the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 8, a single semiconductor module 2 has two semiconductor device pairs 29 each including the main semiconductor device 3a and the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 10, only one semiconductor device pair 29 may also be provided in a single semiconductor module 2.

[0065] According to this embodiment, a MOSFET formed of SiC is employed as the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a high electron mobility transistor formed of GaN may also be employed. In addition, a transistor formed of diamond may also be employed. A super-junction MOSFET may also be employed.

[0066] In the following embodiments, the same reference numerals as those used in the first embodiment denote similar elements in the first embodiment throughout the drawings unless specified otherwise.

Second Embodiment

[0067] The present embodiment is an example in which a magnitude relationship of the switching speed is changed. As illustrated in FIG. 13, according to the present embodiment, a switching speed is decreased when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on. Meanwhile, the switching speed is increased when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned off. That is, the turn-on timing is set as the low-speed switching timing t.sub.s, and the turn-off timing is set as the high-speed switching timing t.sub.f.

[0068] As illustrated in FIG. 11, when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on, the main current i flowing through the main semiconductor 3a is changed with time. Therefore, an induction current I.sub.Gb is generated in the control terminals 20.sub.S and 20.sub.Gb of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. In the semiconductor module 2 according to the present embodiment, a positional relationship between the subsidiary gate terminal 20.sub.Gb and the subsidiary reference terminal 20.sub.S is reversed compared with that of the first embodiment (refer to FIG. 1). For this reason, when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on, the induction current I.sub.Gb flows to turn on the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. However, as described above, according to the present embodiment, the switching speed is decreased when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on. Therefore, the generated induction current I.sub.Gb is small. For this reason, even when the induction current I.sub.Gb flows, the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is not turned on.

[0069] As illustrated in FIG. 12, when the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is turned off, the induction current I.sub.Gb flows to the control terminals 20.sub.S and 20.sub.Gb of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. When the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is turned off, the switching speed is fast, and the high induction current I.sub.Gb flows accordingly. However, since the induction current I.sub.Gb flows to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b, the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is not turned on.

[0070] Similarly to the first embodiment, according to the present embodiment, the power conversion apparatus 1 (refer to FIG. 8) includes a plurality of semiconductor modules 2. According to the present embodiment, a short-circuit protection circuit is formed in the control circuit unit 4. In the short-circuit protection circuit, when the semiconductor device 3a or 3b included in any one of a semiconductor device pair 29.sub.H of an upper arm and a semiconductor device pair 29.sub.L of a lower arm is short-circuited, the semiconductor device 3a or 3b of the opposite arm is forcibly turned off. In this case, when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned off, the switching speed at the time of the turn-off increases. Therefore, a high induction current I.sub.Gb flows to the control terminals 20.sub.S and 20.sub.Gb of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. However, as described above, this induction current I.sub.Gb flows to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b from being erroneously turned on by the induction current I.sub.Gb when the main semiconductor device 3a is forcibly turned off. For this reason, it is possible to reliably protect the semiconductor device 3 from a short circuit.

[0071] The present embodiment includes other configurations and functional effects similar to those of the first embodiment.

Third Embodiment

[0072] The present embodiment is an example in which the structure of the semiconductor module 2 is modified. As illustrated in FIG. 2, according to the present embodiment, the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is arranged on a path R through which the main current i of the main semiconductor device 3a flows when seen in the thickness direction of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b.

[0073] For this reason, it is possible to allow the control terminals 20.sub.S and 20.sub.Gb of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b to be close to the main current i. Therefore, when switching operation of the main semiconductor device 3a is performed at a high speed, it is possible to generate the high induction current I.sub.Gb in the control terminals 20.sub.S and 20.sub.Gb to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. For this reason, it is possible to reliably suppress erroneous operation of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b.

[0074] The present embodiment includes other configurations and functional effects similar to those of the first embodiment.

Fourth Embodiment

[0075] The present embodiment is an example in which the circuit configuration of the power converter 1 is modified. As illustrated in FIG. 15, according to the present embodiment, a DC-DC converter for boosting DC voltage of the DC power source 8 is provided using the main semiconductor device 3a and the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b.

[0076] The present embodiment includes other configurations and functional effects similar to those of the first embodiment.

Fifth Embodiment

[0077] The present embodiment is an example in which the configuration of the driving circuit 40 is modified. As illustrated in FIG. 16, the power converter 1 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the main semiconductor device 3a and the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b connected in parallel to each other are driven by the same driving circuit 40. The driving circuit 40 includes a voltage application unit 41 that applies voltages to gates of the semiconductor devices 3a and 3b, a plurality of gate resistors R, and a switch 42. The voltage application unit 41 applies a voltage to the gate with reference to a midpoint 49 between the emitter of the main semiconductor device 3a and the source of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b.

[0078] Two gate resistors R are interposed between each of the semiconductor devices 3a and 3b and the voltage application unit 41. The two gate resistors R are connected in parallel to each other to form a variable resistor 43 (43a and 43b). When the semiconductor devices 3a and 3b are turned on, the main switch 42a is turned on, and the subsidiary switch 42b is turned off as illustrated in FIG. 16. As a result, voltages are applied to the gates of the semiconductor devices 3a and 3b while the resistance value of the main variable resistor 43a is decreased, and the resistance value of the subsidiary variable resistor 43b is increased. Accordingly, since the resistance value of the main variable resistor 43a is small, the main semiconductor device 3a is rapidly turned on, and the switching speed increases. In addition, since the subsidiary variable resistor 43b has a high resistance value, it is turned on later than the main semiconductor device 3a.

[0079] When the semiconductor devices 3a and 3b are turned off, the main switch 42a is turned off, and the subsidiary switch 42b is turned on as illustrated in FIG. 17. As a result, the voltage application to the gates of the semiconductor devices 3a and 3b stops in the state where the resistance value of the main variable resistor 43a is increased, and the resistance value of the subsidiary variable resistor 43b decreased. Accordingly, since the subsidiary variable resistor 43b has a low resistance value, the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is rapidly turned off. Since the main variable resistor 43a has a high resistance value, it is turned off later than the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. In addition, the switching speed decreases compared with a case where it is turned on.

[0080] Functional effects of the present embodiment will be described. In the power conversion apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the main semiconductor device 3a and the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b connected in parallel to each other are driven by the same driving circuit 40. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the number of the driving circuits 40. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the power conversion apparatus 1.

[0081] As illustrated in FIG. 16, the voltage application unit 41 applies a voltage to the gate with reference to the midpoint 49 between the emitter of the main semiconductor device 3a and the source of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. In addition, there is a parasitic inductance L.sub.a in the emitter of the main semiconductor device 3a. For this reason, the inductance L.sub.a generates an inductive voltage (L.sub.adi/dt) when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on, and an electric current i flows. In this case, since the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b is not in an on-state, no inductive voltage (L.sub.bdi/dt) is generated in the source of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. Therefore, when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on, the emitter potential Ve becomes higher than the source potential V.sub.s. For this reason, the voltage application unit 41 applies a voltage to the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b with reference to the midpoint 49 where the electric potential is higher than the source potential Vs. Therefore, a high voltage is easily applied between the source and the gate of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b.

[0082] However, according to the present embodiment, when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned on, an induction current flows to the control terminal 20 of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a particularly high voltage from being applied to the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b from being erroneously operated by a particularly high voltage applied to the gate of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b.

[0083] Since the temporal change rate di/dt has a negative sign when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned off (refer to FIG. 17), the emitter potential Ve becomes lower than the source potential Vs. Accordingly, the voltage application unit 41 applies a voltage to the gate of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b with reference to the midpoint 49 where the electric potential is lower than the source potential Vs. For this reason, it becomes difficult to apply a sufficient voltage between the gate and the source of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. According to the present embodiment, when the main semiconductor device 3a is turned off, an induction current flows to the control terminal 20 of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b to turn on the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. However, in this case, it is difficult to apply a voltage to the gate of the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the subsidiary semiconductor device 3b from being erroneously turned on.

[0084] The present embodiment includes other configurations and functional effects similar to those of the first embodiment.

[0085] It will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to the configurations described above, but any and all modifications, variations or equivalents, which may occur to those who are skilled in the art, should be considered to fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0086] Hereinafter, an aspect of the above-described embodiments will be summarized.

[0087] As an aspect of the embodiment, a power conversion apparatus (1) includes: a semiconductor module (2) including a semiconductor device (3); and a control circuit unit (4) that controls switching operation of the semiconductor module. The semiconductor module has a main semiconductor device (3a) and a subsidiary semiconductor device (3b) connected in parallel to each other as the semiconductor device. The control circuit unit performs control such that the subsidiary semiconductor device is turned on after the main semiconductor device is turned on, and the main semiconductor device is turned off after the subsidiary semiconductor device is turned off. The control circuit unit performs control such that, out of two switching timings including a turn-on timing at which the main semiconductor device is switched from an off-state to an on-state and a turn-off timing at which the main semiconductor device is switched from an on-state to an off-state, one of the switching timings has a switching speed faster than that of the other of the switching timings. The semiconductor module is configured such that, at a high-speed switching timing having a fast switching speed, an induction current (I.sub.Gb) directed to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device is generated in a control terminal (20) of the subsidiary semiconductor device depending on a temporal change (di/dt) of a main current (i) flowing to the main semiconductor device.

[0088] The control circuit unit of the power conversion apparatus performs control such that, one of the two switching timings has a switching speed faster than that of the other of the switching timings. In addition, the semiconductor module is configured such that, at the high-speed switching timing, an induction current directed to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device is generated in the control terminal of the subsidiary semiconductor device depending on a temporal change of the main current.

[0089] For this reason, at the high-speed switching timing, that is, when a temporal change rate of the main current is high, and a large induction current is generated in the control terminal of the subsidiary semiconductor device, this induction current can flow to turn off the subsidiary semiconductor device. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the subsidiary semiconductor device from being erroneously turned on.

[0090] If the aforementioned configuration is employed, an induction current directed to turn on the subsidiary semiconductor device flows to the control terminal of the subsidiary semiconductor device at the other switching timing (low-speed switching timing). However, since the temporal change rate of the main current is low at the low-speed switching timing, the induction current generated in the control terminal of the subsidiary semiconductor device is small. For this reason, the subsidiary semiconductor device is not easily erroneously turned on by the induction current at the low-speed switching timing.

[0091] As described above, according to this aspect, it is possible to provide a power converter capable of suppressing an erroneous operation of the subsidiary semiconductor device.