Driving method and driving device for semiconductor device, and power conversion apparatus
AssigneeMitsubishi Electric Corporation
InventorsYasutaka Imamura, Yohei Mitsui, Yukihiko Wada, Takayoshi Miki
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Abstract
A semiconductor device is subjected to ON/OFF control by controlling a gate voltage according to a drive control signal. In a turn-on operation for charging a gate in response to transition of drive control signal from a first level to a second level, a drive signal is set to first level to discharge the gate at a first time after end of a Miller period of a gate voltage, thereby providing a voltage drop period in which gate voltage temporarily drops. At a second time, drive signal is again set to second level to start charging the gate.
Claims20
A driving method for a semiconductor device to be turned on and off according to a drive control signal, the driving method comprising:
- starting a turn-on operation that charges a gate of the semiconductor device under an OFF-state in response to a turn-on command with a transition of the drive control signal from a first level to a second level;
- starting a turn-off operation that discharges the gate of the semiconductor device under an ON-state in response to a turn-off command with a transition of the drive control signal from the second level to the first level;
- and
- arranging at least one of a voltage drop period that is provided within a period in which the drive control signal is maintained at the second level after start of the turn-on operation, and a voltage rising period that is provided within a period in which the drive control signal is maintained at the first level after start of the turn-off operation, wherein
- the voltage drop period is created by a temporary discharge of the gate after end of a Miller period, and
- the voltage rising period is created by a temporary charge of the gate during a period in which a current of the semiconductor device is decreasing.
A driving device for a semiconductor device to be turned on and off according to a drive control signal, the driving device comprising:
- a drive adjuster that generates a drive signal for controlling a turn-on operation of charging a gate of the semiconductor device under an OFF-state and a turn-off operation of discharging the gate of the semiconductor device under an ON-state in response to a turn-on command with a transition of the drive control signal from a first level to a second level and a turn-off command with a transition of the drive control signal from the second level to the first level;
- and
- a drive circuit that charges or discharges the gate according to the drive signal, wherein the drive adjuster generates the drive signal so as to arrange at least one of a voltage drop period that is provided within a period in which the drive control signal is maintained at the second level after start of the turn-on operation, and a voltage rising period that is provided within a period in which the drive control signal is maintained at the first level after start of the turn-off operation,
- the voltage drop period is created by a temporary discharge of the gate after end of a Miller period, and
- the voltage rising period is created by a temporary charge of the gate during a period in which a current of the semiconductor device is decreasing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.