Patents Assigned to South Island Discretes Limited
  • Patent number: 6556062
    Abstract: A method of control of the current and voltage switching trajectories of insulated gate power semiconductor switches, more specifically MOSFETs and insulated gate bipolar transistor devices (IGBTs), is disclosed. MOSFETs and IGBTs are used in switch mode power supplies because of their easy driving ability and their ability to handle high currents and voltages at high-switching frequencies. However, the switching trajectories for both types of devices are responsible for both common-mode electromagnetic emissions generated by the drain current waveform and power losses in the commutation cell. These two characteristics represent opposing design objectives for power converters. The current invention uses a hybrid voltage/current gate signal source with feedback of the gate charge (or discharge) current to dynamically and independently control the drain current and drain voltage of an insulated semiconductor device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2003
    Assignee: South Island Discretes Limited
    Inventor: Gregory Craig Wallace