A new voltage between collector and emitter (VCE) sensing scheme for short-circuit withstanding capability of the insulated gate bipolar transistor

A new protection circuit employing a voltage between collector and emitter (V-CE) sensing scheme for the short-circuit withstanding capability of insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) is proposed and verified on the basis of two-dimensional simulation and experimental results. Because the current path between the gate and the collector can be successfully eliminated in the proposed protection circuit, power consumption can be reduced and gate input impedance can be increased. The experimental results show that the proposed protection circuit can adjust the current saturation level of IGBTs and the short-circuit withstanding capability can be significantly enhanced.