IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications in Asia (WiPDA Asia 2018)

346 / 2017-12-09 02:11:00

Evaluation of 1.2 kV SiC MOSFETs in Modular Multilevel Cascaded H-Bridge Three-Phase Inverter for Medium Voltage Grid Application

Modular Multilevel Converters, SiC MOSFETs Modules, Gate Drivers, Passive Elements, EMI

Plenary track > Applications in renewable energy and storage, transportation, industrial drives, and grid power

This paper describes a study evaluating 1.2 kV SiC MOSFETs in modular multilevel cascaded H-bridge(CHB) three-phase inverter for medium voltage grid applications. The main purpose of this topology is to remove the need of a bulk 60 Hz transformer that is normally used to step up the output of a voltage source inverter to the medium voltage level. Using voltage SiC devices (1.2 kV ~ 6.5 kV SiC MOSFETs), with their high breakdown voltage, enables the system to meet and withstand the medium voltage stress, with a minimized number of cascaded modules. The SiC-based power electronics, when used in the presented topology, they significantly reduce the complexity usually faced when Si devices are used to meet the medium voltage level and the power scalability. The simulation and experimental results, performed on a low-voltage prototype, verify the nine-level CHB topology that is presented in this paper