Soft-switching of IGBTs with the help of MOSFETs in bridge-type converters

Abstract

For high power switching power converters, IGBTs are more attractive than MOSFETs due to the lower conduction losses and lower cost. However, the slow turn-on and turn-off characteristics, especially the turn-off current tail of the IGBTs, cause severe switching losses, thus limiting the switching frequency. Several bridge-type converters which achieve soft-switching of IGBTs with the help of the fast-switching MOSFETs are proposed. Experimental results have verified the effectiveness of this scheme.<>