A Review of Voltage Sharing Control Methods for Series-connected IGBTs for Applications in Pulsed Power Generation

Pulsed power generation is required by various types of industrial applications. With the current development of semiconductor devices, solid-state pulse generators have been growing. To fully integrate such devices, series connection is preferred for high-voltage applications. In this paper, a review of series IGBT control methods for solid-state switching devices are provided. These methods are categorized into three groups based on the locations of the auxiliary circuits: load-side, gate-side and both sides combined. Then, they are analyzed and compared in terms of output voltage rise time, voltage balancing, loss, and complexity, specifically for pulse generation. Finally, it is shown that each group excels only at certain aspects and that further development of series-connected devices for pulse generation is necessary.