Design considerations for half- and full-bridge resonant gate drive topologies

摘要

In this paper, performance of two resonant gate drives (RGD) utilizing different topologies is compared. Both diode-clamped half-bridge and actively clamped full-bridge RGD circuits were built using the same small signal transistors in order to have a meaningful comparison. Advantages and drawbacks of investigated RGD topologies are discussed in detail. Simulated and experimental results were used for an analysis of power loss, switching time and output voltage clamping. The paper also discusses design considerations and practical issues including start-up requirements, effect of electrical component non-idealities and board parasitic elements on RGD performance.