US 2003/0067342 A1Published application

Method for driving a power semiconductor

AssigneeABB Schweiz AG

InventorsOscar Apeldoorn, Eric Carroll, Peter Streit, Andre Weber

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Abstract

The integrated gate dual transistor (IGDT) has two controllable gates (G1, G2), a first gate (G1) being provided on the cathode side and being driven via a low-inductance first gate terminal with a first gate current, and a second gate (G2) being provided on the anode side and being driven via a low-inductance second gate terminal with a second gate current. In the switch-off operation of the IGDT, the rate of rise of the voltage across the IGDT is limited via the two gates. Limiting the rate of rise of the voltage across the IGDT prevents voltages from building up at different speeds in a series circuit of IGDTs, and thus unequal loads from overheating and destroying the individual IGDTs.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A method for driving a power semiconductor element, the power semiconductor element being an integrated gate dual transistor (IGDT) comprising

between an anode (A) and a cathode (K) a four-layer semiconductor substrate (1), having
an anodal outer p-doped anode layer,
a two-part, n-doped base layer with integrated n-type buffer,
a p-doped base layer and also
a cathodal outer n-doped cathode layer,
and two gates (G1, G2) controllable via low-inductance gate terminals,
in which method, by hard driving of only the first gate (G1), only the second gate (G2) or, simultaneously or temporally staggered, both gates, or by hard control of one of the two gates and current or voltage control of the other gate,
in the switch-off operation of the IGDT, the switching losses are reduced via the two gates (G1, G2) and/or,
in the switch-off operation of the IGDT, the rate of rise of the voltage (UAK) across the IGDT is limited via the two gates (G1, G2) and/or
in the switched-off state of the IGDT, the reverse current (IA) between anode and cathode is controlled via the two gates (G1, G2) and/or
in the switch-on operation of the IGDT, the rate of rise of the anode current (IA) is limited via the two gates (G1, G2), and/or
in the switched-on state of the IGDT, the anode current (IA) is limited and/or controlled via the two gates (G1, G2).

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.