48 V Current Source Inverter with Bidirectional GaN eHEMT Switches for Low Inductance Machine Drives

Because of the specific features of wide-bandgap switches like GaN and SiC, the current source inverter is increasingly becoming a competitor to the voltage source topology. Although some research still rate the VSI superior to the CSI, the results are highly dependent on the target application. In this paper the CSI is discussed for low inductance machines such as PCB winding motors. Further, the performed experiments consider relevant parasitic effects in the converter layout process. The experiments show good results of a total harmonic distortion below 3 % for the output current wave form with a load inductance of 22 µH and 100 kHz switching frequency.