Bi-directional solid-state DC circuit breaker with breaking speed control

A circuit breaker comprising:

• an inductor having a first terminal connected to a power input and having a second terminal;
• a current sensor;
• a semiconductor switch coupled in series with the current sensor and with the inductor to switch current between the power input and a power output;
• a Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET) having a gate controlled by a third gate signal, the MOSFET in a first branch in the semiconductor switch, the MOSFET coupled between an input and an output of the semiconductor switch;
• a snubber switch having a gate controlled by a fourth gate signal;
• a snubber capacitor connected in series with the snubber switch between the power input and the second terminal of the inductor;
• and
• a controller that drives the fourth gate signal active when the current sensor detects a reverse current flowing in a reverse direction from the power output to the power input;
• wherein the snubber switch closes to connect the snubber capacitor across the first terminal and the second terminal of the inductor when the fourth gate signal is activated when reverse current is detected by the current sensor.

A circuit breaker with upstream fault tolerance comprising:

• a power input to an upstream power source and to upstream loads;
• an inductor connected between the power input and a first node;
• a current sensor connected between the first node and a second node;
• a semiconductor switch connected between the second node and a power output to a load, the semiconductor switch having a transistor controlled by a main gate signal;
• an input capacitor connected between the power input and a ground input;
• a snubber capacitor connected between the power input and a snubber node;
• a snubber switch connected between the snubber node and the first node;
• the snubber switch controlled by a snubber gate signal;
• a snubber controller that drives the snubber gate signal to an active state that closes the snubber switch when the current sensor detects a reverse current flowing from the second node to the first node, the snubber controller driving the snubber gate signal to an inactive state when the current sensor detects a forward current flowing from the first node to the second node;
• and
• a main controller that drives the main gate signal to an inactive state that turns off the transistor to disconnect the second node from the power output when the current sensor detects a current that exceeds a trigger current.