The Fast Overvoltage Protection Consideration and Design for SiC-Based Matrix Converters

Matrix converters feature low switching loss, small electromagnetic interference filter, and the potential for achieving high power density. With the employment of wide-bandgap devices, such as silicon carbide devices, the converter performance can be further improved. For a safe operation of matrix converters, an overvoltage protection circuit is necessary to limit the voltage stress of the devices during fault conditions. Due to the high switching speed of silicon carbide devices, the topology and layout design of the overvoltage protection circuit is critical to ensure fast and robust protection for the devices. In this article, a detachable overvoltage protection circuit is designed for each phase leg of the matrix converter. The topology and hardware layout design are elaborated. A 15-kW full silicon carbide implemented matrix converter is built, and the designed overvoltage protection circuits are employed and tested.