Simple Switching Strategies for dv/dt Reduction in SiC-Device-Based Modular Multilevel Converters

This article presents two simple strategies for output dv/dt reduction in modular multilevel converters through coordination of the switching transients of the submodules. The first method is achieved by adding a delay time between the switching transients of two submodules, which would be switched simultaneously in regular switching strategies of modular multilevel converters. The second method is to inject a reverse dv/dt to the converter's output by switching redundant submodules. Both methods do not affect the switching speeds of the semiconductor devices and require no additional hardware components. They can be applied with different modular multilevel converters modulation strategies. Circuit analysis of the proposed methods and their effects on the converter operation are presented. Simulation and test results of a 1.7-kV SiC-device-based modular multilevel converter are provided to validate the circuit analysis. It is shown that the proposed methods can reduce the converter's output dv/dt to half of a single switching device's dv/dt.