Preliminary test on a cascode switch for high-frequency applications

Abstract

Nowadays, an increasing electrification level is being addressed towards different sectors, such as transportation and industrial electronics. To bear that, high speed electrical machines represent a mature technology in different application fields, e.g. avionics, automotive, compressors and spindles. In order to guarantee high speed while keeping high power quality without adopting bulky filtering circuits, DC-AC converters shall be controlled by means of high Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) frequencies. In addition to the emerging switching device technologies, such as those based on Silicon-Carbide (SiC) and Gallium-Nitride (GaN), alternative circuital topologies are crucial in order to comply with the higher switching frequencies while maintaining high voltage levels. The Cascode (CC) structure represents an attractive topology for those applications. In this paper a three phase inverter based on CC devices is investigated, by simulating a 400 Hz sinusoidal PWM. Experimental results showing the satisfactory operation of a single-switch DC-AC implemented through a CC architecture are provided as well.