Investigation on the radiated EMI of a 3-phase traction inverter for urban mobility

In synergy with the European Green Deal, which aims at providing direct support for cities to strive for climate neutrality, the search for innovative energy production, storage, conversion and utilization solutions to be applied in the context of mobility is becoming increasingly important to meet the needs for energy savings, risk reduction and ecological footprint while ensuring equity, inclusiveness and sustainable use of goods and services. As far as conversion systems are concerned, for the purpose of higher and higher levels of transportation electrification, power converters based on emerging semiconductor technologies of switching devices, such as wide bandgap (WGB) devices, are essential to efficiently guarantee high voltage levels while operating at high frequencies. Moreover, alternative topologies of connections among switching devices are currently investigated to further support power converters’ performances. Nevertheless, high-frequency high-voltage switching power converters are implemented at the price of high electromagnetic interference (EMI) noises, so that limiting the radiated EMI of such power converters is a must. In this paper, a 3-phase traction inverter based on Silicon Carbide (SiC) devices connected through cascode configuration is proposed. A 600 V prototype has been assembled and experimentally tested, also regarding its radiated EMI, measured inside a semi-anechoic chamber.