Switching voltage transient protection schemes for high-current IGBT modules

The emergence of high-current and faster switching insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules has made it imperative for designers to look at ways of protecting these devices against detrimental switching voltage transients that are a common side effect of these efficient transistors. This paper discusses protection criteria for both normal switching operation and short-circuit operation and covers in detail some of the protection schemes that were designed to address these problems.