Analysis and Measurement of the Surge and Gate-Noise Voltages in a 1.7-KV IGBT Module With the Effect of Reverse-Recovery Current

This paper reveals the effect of the reverse-recovery current of a PIN diode on the surge and gate-noise voltage of an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) in an inverter. Theoretical analysis reveals that the di/dt of the reverse-recovery current, the switching speed of the IGBT and parasitic inductances affect the gate-noise voltage unlike a Schottky barrier diode (SBD) because resonance does not occur due to junction capacitances. The analysis also indicates that the surge voltage may not occur when the dc voltage is increased even though a large amount of surge voltage occurs in a low dc voltage region. A 1-kV testing setup was designed and constructed using a 1.7-kV 260-A IGBT module, which confirms the validity of the theoretical analysis.