A Comparative Study on the Switching Performance of GaN and Si Power Devices for Bipolar Complementary Modulated Converter Legs

Baochao Wang, Shili Dong, Shanlin Jiang, Chun He, Jianhui Hu, Hui Ye and Xuezhen Ding
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Baochao Wang: School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 Street Xidazhi, Harbin 150001, China
Shili Dong: School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 Street Xidazhi, Harbin 150001, China
Shanlin Jiang: School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 Street Xidazhi, Harbin 150001, China
Chun He: School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 Street Xidazhi, Harbin 150001, China
Jianhui Hu: School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 Street Xidazhi, Harbin 150001, China
Hui Ye: State Grid Jinan Changqing Power Supply Company, 15508 Road Jingshixi, Jinan 250300, China
Xuezhen Ding: Institute of Economics and Technology of Jinan Power Supply Company of State Grid Corporation of China, 59 Yuhan Road, Jinan 250012, China

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-13

Abstract: The commercial mature gallium nitride high electron mobility transistors (GaN HEMT) technology has drawn much attention for its great potential in industrial power electronic applications. GaN HEMT is known for low on-state resistance, high withstand voltage, and high switching frequency. This paper presents comparative experimental evaluations of GaN HEMT and conventional Si insulated gate bipolar transistors (Si IGBTs) of similar power rating. The comparative study is carried out on both the element and converter level. Firstly, on the discrete element level, the steady and dynamic characteristics of GaN HEMT are compared with Si-IGBT, including forward and reverse conducting character, and switching time. Then, the elemental switching losses are analyzed based on measured data. Finally, on a complementary buck converter level, the overall efficiency and EMI-related common-mode currents are compared. For the tested conditions, it is found that the GaN HEMT switching loss is much less than for the same power class IGBT. However, it is worth noting that special attention should be paid to reverse conduction losses in the PWM dead time (or dead band) of complementary-modulated converter legs. When migrating from IGBT to GaN, choosing a dead-time and negative gate drive voltage in conventional IGBT manner can make GaN reverse conducting losses high. It is suggested to use 0 V turn-off gate voltage and minimize the GaN dead time in order to make full use of the GaN advantages.

Keywords: GaN; losses; reverse conducting loss; complementary modulation; dead band; common mode current (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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