IR2137 Datasheet, PDF (1/9 Pages) International Rectifier – IGBT Protection in AC or BLDC Motor Drives

International Rectifier • 233 Kansas Street, El Segundo, CA 90245 USA
IGBT Protection in AC or BLDC Motor Drives
by Toshio Takahashi
The new IR2137 IGBT Gate Driver IC integrates Ground Fault and Over-Current Protection
with Soft Shutdown, thus providing a compact and comprehensive IGBT protection scheme.
1. INTRODUCTION
In the last decade, industrial AC drives have become more advanced in performance and more
compact in size. This is largely due to the rapid development of power silicon technology, including
the enhancement of IGBTs and of High Voltage Integrated Circuits. Additionally, this technological
growth has been particularly accelerated for low horsepower (< 5 Hp) AC Drives. Yet the ground fault
protection, a feature sought increasingly in motor drives of all power levels, is available widely only in
the high-end models due to the sensors and other circuitry involved. The market, however, continues
to demand a fully protected, yet inexpensive, system. To meet this demand, International Rectifier
has introduced the IR2137: a new generation 3-phase IGBT gate driver, featuring full IGBT protec-
tion and advanced soft shutdown features.
To understand traditional methods of IGBT protection, read Section 2. To understand the working of
the IR2137 skip to Section 3.
2. TRADITIONAL METHODS OF IGBT PROTECTION
2-1 Background Theory for Protecting Against Failure
One of the most common, and fatal, AC drive faults for IGBTs is the Over-Current condition. Table 1
outlines the causes for the three most common Over-Current modes.
Over-Current Mode
Line-to-Line Short
Ground Fault
Shoot Through
Potential Causes
Mis-wiring, Motor leads shorting, Motor phase-to-phase
insulation breaking down
Motor phase-to-phase insulation breaking down
False IGBT turn-on
Table 1: Potential Causes of Over-Current
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