Modelling and Analysis of Proximity Effect in IGBT Fuses

The demand for protection of power electronic applications has during the last couple of years increased regarding the high-power IGBT modules. The consequences of electrical faults can be severe in special cases; not only on the equipment but also to people, if safety principles are not applied. Even with an active protection, a high power IGBT still has a risk of exhibiting a violent rupture in the case of a fault if e.g. IGBT fuses are not protecting it. By introducing fuses into voltage source converters a better protection of IGBT's can be achieved. However, skin and proximity effects affect the current distribution in a fuse due to the high frequency currents and thus a need for de-rating the fuse. This paper shows an analytical model for studying the proximity effect into a fuse. The results obtained using this model are compared with experiments.