Current-direction detection for static MOS-control of the BIGT in the three-level neutral-point-clamped converter

The gate-emitter voltage V
_GE
affects the on-state characteristics of the BIGT in diode forward-conduction mode. While for conventional IGBT with antiparallel free-wheeling diode V
_GE
is at 15 V regardless of current direction, it has to be adapted for the BIGT. The gate-emitter voltage V
_GE
has to be below threshold voltage, in order to operate at low static losses in diode forward-conduction mode. This paper proposes an optimised gate control based on the direction of the load current for a three-phase three-level converter.