Switching Behavior of a 5 kA Press-Pack IGBT for HVDC Applications

Driven by renewable energy sources, the need to transmit a significant amount of energy over long distances leads to rising demand of high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) power grids. Based on this development the requirement for higher power density in insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) requires an increase in the current-carrying capability of a single package. Press-pack IGBTs (PPIs) are ideal for power-grid and premium medium-voltage-drive topologies in systems of up to +/- 800 kV. Controlling and protecting these systems requires a highly reliable and robust gate-drive unit (GDU) with the ability to safely operate in the full reverse-bias safe operating area (RBSOA) including the ability to securely react to short circuit events and overvoltage situations. This work de-scribes the efforts to achieve an optimized switching behavior using the SCALE(TM)-2 1SP0351V GDU from Power Integrations in conjunction with the Infineon Bipolar 4.5 kV 5 kA P5000ZL45X202 PPI.