A novel passive lossless soft-clamped snubber for high frequency power converters

Abstract

A novel adaptive soft-clamped snubber is proposed where energy trapped in the snubber is partly transferred to both the load and the DC rail, without any active devices or resistors. The maximum overshoot voltage on the switch is clamped and the peak switch current is low, making the snubber particularly suitable for use in high frequency power converters. Design equations, simulations, and experimental results are given, along with a practical and effective drive circuit for IBGTs.<>