High-Efficiency NPC Multilevel Converter Using Super-Junction MOSFETs

J N McNeill, Xibo Yuan, Philip H Anthony

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)
577 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Super-junction MOSFETs exhibit low on-state resistances and low switching losses. However, the reverse recovery behavior of their intrinsic diodes and their output capacitance characteristics make their deployment in freewheeling locations challenging. In this paper, a new snubber circuit arrangement has been proposed for a three-level converter to minimize the effect of the output capacitance. This is used in conjunction with diode deactivation circuitry to address the diode recovery behavior. Results are given for a three-phase three-level neutral point clamped converter running from an input voltage of
720 V and supplying a 3-kVA load. The converter operates with no forced cooling and efficiency is estimated at 99.3%. Apart from lower energy consumption, an advantage of high efficiency is a reduced converter mass due to reduced cooling requirements.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)25-37
Number of pages13
JournalIEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics
Volume63
Issue number1
Early online date11 Aug 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2016

Keywords

  • multilevel
  • neutral point clamped
  • super-junction
  • MOSFET
  • efficiency

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