Conclusion

The increased reliability of power converters is largely due to the implementation, within drivers, of protection functions for semiconductor power components. The technology for ensuring the integrity of silicon MOSFETs and IGBTs is well mastered and widely used by leading driver designers. However, new challenges remain.

At present, the driver is seen essentially as an interface, and communication with the control unit is rudimentary. Tomorrow's driver will be intelligent, incorporating digital components for bidirectional information exchange between the control unit connected to the primary stage and the secondary stages on the power side. Whatever the low, medium or high-voltage structure, detailed error messages, voltage measurement in the switchgear cell and chip monitoring are new functions that will be part of new-generation drivers. The implementation...