Design and Demonstration of a Medium-Voltage High-Power All Silicon Carbide ANPC Converter With Optimized Busbar Architecture

In this article, the design and optimization of a high-power active-neutral-point-clamped (ANPC) converter using 1.7-kV silicon carbide (SiC) power modules and low-inductance laminated bussing architecture are presented. Various optimizations have been performed to reduce parasitic inductance along the current commutation loops (CCLs) while achieving high power density and meeting insulation requirements. Due to the low inductance in the CCLs, the proposed ANPC design can support up to 2.6-kV dc-link voltage. In addition, a method to improve the accuracy of voltage ringing frequency measurement during the switching transient has been proposed, which can further lead to a precise CCL stray inductance calculation that agrees well with the measurement using the impedance analyzer and the Q3D-based simulation. Extensive experimental studies, including switching tests and continuous power tests, have been performed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed methods and the converter prototyped.