Total Harmonic Distortion Analysis in Magnetic Characterization using High Frequency GaN Inverter in the MHz Order

Abstract

Nowadays, a big portion of all electrical power is transported through a power electronics converter, which comprises invariably magnetic components. The losses of these components are an important share of the total electric power losses. Consequently, there is a need for outstanding magnetic components with low-loss and high dense properties. Moreover, with the introduction of Wide Bandgap semiconductors, high performance magnetic components at high frequency operation have been demanded. However, there is not a clear understanding about how magnetics components operate at high frequencies and under the influence of these semiconductors. Then, magnetic characterization is essential to understand the performance of these components at the mentioned conditions. During these characterization procedures, the harmonic content, introduced by the switching of the fast semiconductors, raise higher challenges for an accurate identification of the magnetic properties. Therefore, having a complete understanding of how these harmonic contents affect the operation of the magnetic components could be beneficial for improving the components themselves. This paper studies the harmonic content influence of Gallium Nitride inverters on iron loss characterization procedures. This study is carried out comparing three types of current sensors for identifying harmonic content at high switching frequency excitations. It was found that the sensor characteristics play an important role in the characterization.