A Simple and Robust Controller Design for High-Frequency WBG-Based Current-Source-Inverter-Fed AC Motor Drive

Wide-bandgap (WBG) monolithic bidirectional (BD) power devices that feature reverse voltage blocking (RVB) capabilities are well suited for current-source inverters (CSIs) since they eliminate the need to add lossy power diodes in series with conventional power devices. With the efficiency improvements enabled by such WBG monolithic BD devices, CSIs become significantly more attractive for a wide range of applications. However, there is still a knowledge gap regarding the operation of CSIs at high switching frequencies (100s of kHz) using WBG devices and their impact on control strategies, components sizing, and system performance. This paper proposes a simple yet effective control architecture tailored for high switching frequency WBG-based CSIs. CSI drive system analysis shows that the adoption of this straightforward and robust control algorithm makes it possible for the CSI to achieve high performance.