Abstract: A method of monitoring the health of a semiconductor power electronic switch such as an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is provided. The method having the steps of: measuring one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of: a rate of change of voltage ( dV dt ) across the switch; a rate of change of current ( di dt ) through the switch, a charge present on a gate of the switch (QG), a peak overshoot voltage (VPO) across the switch, and a peak overshoot or reverse recovery current (IRR) through the switch; and estimating the health of the switch based on the measured parameter(s).

Abstract: A method of monitoring the health of a semiconductor power electronic switch such as an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is provided. The method having the steps of: measuring one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of: a rate of change of voltage ( dV dt ) across the switch; a rate of change of current ( di dt ) through the switch, a charge present on a gate of the switch (QG), a peak overshoot voltage (VPO) across the switch, and a peak overshoot or reverse recovery current (IRR) through the switch; and estimating the health of the switch based on the measured parameter(s).

Abstract: A method of controlling an inverter, in which the inverter includes a single-phase inverter arrangement comprising a complementary pair of power switches, comprises the steps of: controlling the complementary pair of power switches with a modulating signal to output an AC signal; judging which of the power switches in the complementary pair of power switches is at a higher temperature; determining the magnitude and sign of a DC offset signal to apply to the modulating signal to reduce the total current in the power switch judged to be at the higher temperature; and applying the DC offset signal to the modulating signal.