State of the Art of Gate-Drive Power Supplies for Medium and High Voltage Applications

Gate-drive power supplies in medium voltage and high voltage direct current (MVDC / HVDC) applications require medium to high voltage insulation. In MVDC and HVDC power converters there are a number of different power supply techniques that can be used for powering the gate-drives of floating power switches, which are commonly found in such converters. This paper presents the state of the art of gate-drive power supply techniques. Contactless energy transfer methods and self-powering techniques used for powering the gate-drives of power switches are presented. The power range obtained and isolation range for the different solutions are then presented. Finally, the most promising techniques for MV and HV applications are highlighted.