Electronics
Calculating driver output
performance of IGBTs
by Markus Hermwille, Semikron International, Germany
Insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) are increasingly being used in power electronics, in applications such as frequency converters, power
supplies and electronic drives.
IGBTs have high inverse voltages (up to 6,5  kV)
and are capable of switching currents up to
3 kA. One key component of every power
electronics system is – besides the power
modules themselves – the IGBT driver, which
forms the vital interface between the power
transistor and the controller. The choice of the
driver and the calculation of the right driver
output power determine the reliability of the
converter solution. Insufficient driver power or
the wrong driver may result in module and driver
malfunction. The following paper summarises
means to calculate driver output performance
for switching IGBTs.
Gate charge characterises the IGBT behaviour
The switching behaviour of an IGBT module
is determined mainly by semiconductor
capacitances (charges) and the internal
and outer resistances. Fig. 1 shows a sketch
of the IGBT capacitances where CGE is the
Fig. 1: IGBT capacitances.
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gate-emitter capacitance, CCE the collector-
emitter capacitance and CGC the gate-
collector capacitance or Miller capacitance.
The gate charge is characterised by the
input capacitances CGC and CGE and is the
key parameter when calculating the output
power requirements for an IGBT driver circuit.
The capacitances are almost independent of
temperature, but strongly voltage dependent
and as such a function of the collector-emitter
voltage VCE of the IGBTs. While this dependency
is substantially higher at a very low collector-
emitter voltage it drops to higher voltages. Fig. 2: Simplified gate charge waveforms.
When the IGBT is turned on the gate charge
characterises the behaviour of the IGBT. Fig. 2
shows the simplified waveforms of the gate- How to measure and determine the gate
charge
emitter voltage VGE, the gate current IG, and the
corresponding collector current IC as functions
By means of a simplified test circuit the gate
of time from turn-on of the IGBT to its saturation.
charge can be measured. Via a constant
The turn-on process can be divided into three current source (QG=I x t) the gate is driven
stages as seen in the IG = f(t) diagram. These while the gate voltage VGE is measured with
are charging of the gate-emitter capacitance, an oscilloscope. The determined gate charge
charging of the gate-collector capacitance curve (Fig. 3) can be used to calculate the
and charging of the gate-emitter capacitance gate charge per pulse needed to drive the
until full IGBT saturation. The gate current IG IGBT. The total gate-emitter voltage can be
charges the input capacitances and the calculated by taking the difference of the
voltages VGE and VCE that are dependent on the applied gate turn-on VG(on) and turn-off voltage
charging process characterise the turn-on and VG(off) into account. The graph in Fig. 3 shows the
turn-off behaviour of the IGBT. During turn-off the gate charge curve in the positive and negative
processes described run in the reverse direction quadrant. If the gate charge curve is given in
and the charge has to be removed from the the positive quadrant only, the gate charge
gate. To calculate the driver output power, the amplitude can be read out by extrapolation.
input capacitances may only be applied to a Even in case no gate charge curve is available
certain extent due to their non-linearity. A more by means of a less accurate method using
practical way of determining the driver output the input capacitance Cies=CGE+CGC the gate
power is to use the gate charge characteristic. charge can be determined [7].

Fig. 3: Gate charge characteristics.
Driver output power and gate current
The individual power of the trigger circuit
needed to drive the IGBT can be found as a
function of the intended switching frequency
and the energy which has to be used to charge
and discharge the IGBT. The driver output
power PGD(out) is the electrical energy E times
the switching frequency fSW PGD(out) = E x fSW.  E
is the product of the gate charge and the
difference of the turn-on and turn-off voltages,
(E = QG  x  (VG(on) - VG(off))
The driver output power therefore is
dependent of gate charge, turn-on and turn-
off voltages and the switching frequency
(PGD(out) = QG  x  (VG(on) - VG(off))  x  fSW.
Another key requirement for IGBT driver circuits
is that enough current can be supplied to
charge and discharge the input capacitances
of the IGBT and thus to switch the IGBT on and
off. This gate current can be calculated using
the equations for IGBT input capacitance
charging (Fig. 4). The gate current calculated
is the minimum average output current
of the driver output stage per channel
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Fig. 4: IGBT capacitances and gate currents.
IG = IGE + IGC = QG  x  fSW. The IGBT switching time
is controlled by charging and discharging the
gate of the IGBT. If the gate peak current is
increased, the turn-on and turn-off time will be
shorter and the switching losses reduced. This
obviously has an impact on other switching
parameters such as overvoltage stress, which
have to be watched. The gate charge currents
can be controlled by the gate resistors RG(on) and
RG(off) . The theoretical peak current can be easily
calculated IGPEAK = (VG(on) - VG(off)) / (RG + RG(int)).
Here the IGBT module's internal gate resistor
RG(int) must be taken into account. In practice,
stray inductance reduces the peak value below
the possible theoretical value. In the data sheet
of an IGBT driver, a maximum peak current is
given, as are the minimum values for the gate
resistors. If both these maximum and minimum
ratings are exceeded, the driver output may be
harmed as a result.
IGBT driver choice
Selecting the suitable IGBT driver requires a few
considerations. The maximum average output
current of the driver must be higher than the
calculated value and the maximum peak gate
current of the driver must be equal to or higher
than maximum calculated peak gate current.
The output capacitors of the driver must be able
to deliver the gate charge needed to charge
and discharge the gate of the IGBT. When
selecting a suitable driver the maximum charge
per pulse as listed in the driver data sheet must
be duly considered. The selection of a suitable
driver, regardless of the application, can be
easily accomplished by using the tool DriverSel.
DriverSel is a free software tool available
at www.semikron.com and based on the
aforementioned characteristics and equations,
and calculates suitable IGBT drivers on the basis
of the IGBT module selected, the number of
paralleled modules, gate resistor, switching
frequency and collector-emitter voltage. This
tool can be used for driver calculation and
selection for any brand and IGBT package, as
well as to calculate the necessary gate charge
and average current.
References
[1] www.semikron.com
[2] Application Manual Power Modules, SEMIKRON
International
[3] M Hermwille, "Plug and Play IGBT Driver Cores for
Converters", Power Electronics Europe Issue 2, pp.
10-12, 2006
[4] M Hermwille, "Gate Resistor – Principle and
Application", Application Note AN-7003,
SEMIKRON
[5] P Bhosale, M Hermwille, "Connection of Gate
Drivers to IGBT and Controller", Application Note
AN-7002, SEMIKRON
[6] IEC 60747-9, Ed.2: Semiconductor Devices –
Discrete Devices – Part 9: Insulated-Gate Bipolar
Transistors (IGBTs)
[7] M Hermwille, IGBT Driver Calculation, Application
Note AN-7004, SEMIKRON
Contact Karen Schutte,
Semikron, Tel 012 345-6060,
karen.schutte@semikron.com