Tutorial: High Voltage Power Devices, Converter Topologies and Applications

Power electronics can be found in everything from electric vehicles and industrial motors, to laptop power adaptors that hook up to the wall outlets. While silicon still dominates the power-semiconductor landscape, the recent onset of wide-bandgap semiconductor (WBG) devices promises low loss, higher-frequency operation of converters leading to smaller, lighter power supplies. This tutorial will introduce the properties of high-voltage (200 to 1200V) Si super-junction and WBG devices and discuss their relative merits. Common power-converter topologies employed in power systems will be explored with a detailed analysis of the main loss mechanisms inside a converter and the impact of topology and device choice on efficiency and power density. The latter part of the tutorial will discuss gate drive and associated protection circuits that are required to safely operate the power FETs with examples provided from commercial gate driver designs.