A Novel Switching Algorithm to Balance Conduction Losses in Power Semiconductor Devices of Multi-level Cascade Inverters

摘要

The power loss in switching devices plays an important role in the design of static converters. The power dissipated during the on-state of semiconductor switches (conduction loss) is a substantial portion of the total switch losses, especially in low-frequency converters. Conduction loss may differ in switches of the converter due to the difference in duration and amount of currents flowing through them. This is, in turn, the result of dissimilar switching signals applied to the switches. To optimize the converter design, it is important to equalize the conduction losses of all main switches. To balance conduction losses in full-bridge and multi-level cascade inverters, a novel switching method is proposed in this article, and its effectiveness and validity is examined by computer simulation results and experimental works.