High performance, FPGA-based test apparatus for unclamped inductive switching of IGBTs

A new concept for testing of power devices, in particular IGBTs, under unclamped inductive switching (UIS) conditions has been adopted and presented in this paper. The testing apparatus is completely FPGA-based and is capable of setting each time of the test (especially the protection one) with a precision of 20 ns. Furthermore, the FPGA embeds a microprocessor, which is responsible for the complete control of the apparatus by a personal computer.Fourth- and fifth-generation, low- and medium-voltage IGBTs have been tested thanks to the presented apparatus, and the collected results have been presented, evidencing significant behavioural differences between the two technologies.