Investigation about Operation and Performance of Gate Drivers for Power Electronics Converters for Cryogenic Temperatures

Utilization of power electronics converters under cryogenic temperatures (CT) offers higher power efficiency and volumetric density. This becomes possible due to reduced channel resistance and switching energies for Si and GaN-based devices. Therefore, both quantities, constituting a figure of merit for power converters; offer lower conduction losses and increased switching speeds with the reduction in temperatures. This leads to increased power efficiency, and lower volume of the passive components involved. Since reliable and efficient operation of a power electronics converter depends upon the operational characteristics of switching devices; gate drivers play a critical role as they not only decide, but also help optimize the operating conditions of such devices. To take full advantage of CT, not only proper working but also the quality of switching performance of gate driving circuits is extremely important. This paper presents operation and performance of numerous commercially off-the-shelf (COTS) gate drivers under cryogenic operating conditions. Gate drivers (GD) selected for the analysis are capable enough to drive high-speed wide band gap (WBG) devices. As part of the experimentation process, whole GD board was designed while selecting all the auxiliary components to be compatible with CT. The paper compares five different GDs and presents successful operation of two of them at CT of 77 K.