Application Note
5
Revision 1.0
2017-11-15
1200V HighSpeed 3 IGBT in TO-247PLUS Evaluation Board
User Manual
Hardware
2
Hardware
This section provides a short description of the board hardware. First, it explains the power circuitry, the
main components and the connectors. Then, the application of the recommended accessories is
discussed.
2.1
Circuit and main components
As shown in the block diagram of Figure 3, the evaluation board essentially is a half bridge converter
consisting of two IGBTs, S
1
and S
2
. Due to the clip-based heat sink mounting and the universal socket
on the PCB it is possible to assemble standard TO-247 and TO-247PLUS packages with three as well
as four leads.
The switches are driven using Eice
Driver™ 1ED Compact driver ICs. Due to the robust nature of the
coreless transformer technology combined with the 300mil wide-body package, these drivers are well
suited for applications that require high voltages, frequencies and switching speeds. Both drivers are
controlled with independent PWM signals on the connectors SIG-HS and SIG-LS. The driving voltages
are provided using the 12V auxiliary supply and isolated DC/DC converters.
For versatility reasons, the evaluation board was equipped with input and output capacitors C
in
and C
out
as well as a load inductor L. While the input capacitor and the load inductor where designed having
mainly switching loss measurements in mind, the output capacitor is required for continuous operation,
for instance as a buck converter. The provided filter inductor might not meet the requirements for the
latter case but it is straightforward to replace it with a custom solution.
The same applies to the heat sink: its size and shape reveals that it cannot provide the cooling
performance required for continuous operation. Rather, it is intended to serve as a heating element for
performing high temperature switching loss measurements. Using the power resistor R
POW
and the
thermistor R
NTC
, the heat sink temperature can be adjusted and monitored, respectively. Again, it is
easily possible to replace the provided heat sink with a high performance solution.
(a)
(b)
Figure 3
Overview of the board schematics (a) and components (b)