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Isolated Gate Driver for Medium Voltage Applications Using a Single Structure
by
Dante Miraglia
Dante Miraglia
Received
B.S. degree in electric engineering from the Universidad Oriente, Santiago
de Cuba, in in [...]
Received
B.S. degree in electric engineering from the Universidad Oriente, Santiago
de Cuba, in 2013, and M.Sc. in Electronics Engineering from the Tecnológico
Nacional de México – CENIDET, Cuernavaca,
Mexico, in 2017. M.Sc. Published several papers on international
journals and conferences. His interest areas include high-frequency power conversion,
electronic illuminating systems and renewable energy applications.
,
Carlos Aguilar
Carlos Aguilar
Received
B.S. degree in electric and mechanical engineering from the Tecnológico
Nacional de – [...]
Received
B.S. degree in electric and mechanical engineering from the Tecnológico
Nacional de México – campus I.T. Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico, in 1992, and M.Sc.
and Ph.D. degrees in Electronic Engineering both from the Tecnológico Nacional
de México – CENIDET, Cuernavaca, Mexico, in 1995 and 1998, respectively. He was
visiting scholar at the Center for Power Electronics Systems, Virginia Tech,
USA, in 2000 – 2001. PhD Aguilar have published several papers in international
journal and for conferences. Also holds three patents on illuminating systems and
measurement issues. Currently is a
full-time professor in the Electronics Engineering Department at CENIDET. His
interest area includes high-frequency power conversion, electronic illuminating
systems and renewable energy applications.
* and
Jaime Arau
Jaime Arau
He was born
in Veracruz, Mexico in 1960 and obtained his B.S degree in Electronics form Nacional de [...]
He was born
in Veracruz, Mexico in 1960 and obtained his B.S degree in Electronics form the
Tecnológico Nacional de México – campus I.T. Minatitlan in 1982, and Ph.D.
in Industrial Electronics from the Unversidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
(1991). He worked at the National Institute of Electricity and Clean Energies -
INEEL in the Power Electronics Group from 1982 to 1987, and from 1991 to 1994.
He has been member of the Mexican System of Researches for more than 28 years
and he received the Third Millennium Medal from the IEEE in 2000. He was
founding president of the chapter of
Power Electronics of the Morelos Section of the IEEE (1994) and the Mexican
Society of Power Electronics – SOMEP in the year 2000. Since January 2018, he
has been Associate Editor of the IEEE Latin American Transactions magazine and since
more than 25 years he has served as reviewer for many worldwide recognized
journals.
Electronics Engineering Department, Tecnológico Nacional de México—CENIDET, Cuernavaca 62490, Mexico
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Electronics 2024, 13(17), 3368; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13173368 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 13 July 2024
/
Revised: 15 August 2024
/
Accepted: 20 August 2024
/
Published: 24 August 2024
Abstract
According to the International Electrotechnical Commission, medium voltage ranges from 1 kV to 36 kV. In this voltage range, the field of power electronics has been focusing on developing power converters with high efficiency. Converters for such applications include solid-state transformers, energy storage systems for vehicle charging, electric aircraft, etc. Power ranges could reach tens to hundreds of kilowatts at relatively high frequency (10–50 kHz). Currently, there are no high-frequency power semiconductors capable of switching these voltage levels. Instead of using a single power switch, a string of power switches is used. The upper switches in the string require special attention because they need the highest isolation capabilities and a floating control signal and power supply for the gate driver. Many techniques have been proposed to accomplish this, but they commonly use separate circuits for the control signal and the power supply, increasing the cost, size, and complexity of the gate driver. This paper presents a gate driver for medium voltage with high-voltage isolation capabilities in a single structure for the control signal and the power supply. The proposed gate driver uses a resonant converter that transmits power within the gate driver information. A demodulator separates the gate driver information from the power signal, obtaining the power supply and the control signal for the switch. The paper includes simulation and experimental results that demonstrate the viability of the proposal. The experimental results show the principal features of the gate driver, achieving improvements in complexity, isolation capabilities, and both rise and fall times for large input capacitances of power semiconductor switches. The proposed gate driver presents a rise time of 44 ns and a fall time of 46 ns for the gate input capacitance of currently available SiC MOSFETs. The isolation barrier uses a 25 mm air gap, achieving an isolation capability of approximately 68.2 kV, which exceeds the requirements for MV applications.
Share and Cite
MDPI and ACS Style
Miraglia, D.; Aguilar, C.; Arau, J.
Isolated Gate Driver for Medium Voltage Applications Using a Single Structure. Electronics 2024, 13, 3368.
https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13173368
AMA Style
Miraglia D, Aguilar C, Arau J.
Isolated Gate Driver for Medium Voltage Applications Using a Single Structure. Electronics. 2024; 13(17):3368.
https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13173368
Chicago/Turabian Style
Miraglia, Dante, Carlos Aguilar, and Jaime Arau.
2024. "Isolated Gate Driver for Medium Voltage Applications Using a Single Structure" Electronics 13, no. 17: 3368.
https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13173368
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