Abstract:
An object of the present invention is to provide an electric power converter including means for accurately detecting a principal current of IGBT. An electric power conversion device according to the present invention includes principal current estimation means for estimating a principal current by using: an output of temperature measuring means whose diode is disposed in the same semiconductor substrate as an IGBT including an emitter having flowing therethrough the principal current and a sense emitter having flowing therethrough a sense current proportional to the principal current; the sense current; and the information, preliminarily stored in memory means, on the relationship among the semiconductor substrate temperature, the principal current and the sense currant.

Description:
[0001]     The present application is based on and claims priority of Japanese patent application No. 2005-085176 filed on Mar. 24, 2005, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to an electric power conversion device including an IGBT, and more particularly to an electric power conversion device including a current conversion device requiring highly accurate current measurement.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     As a next-generation car comprised of a combination of an engine and a motor, hybrid automobiles are attracting attention. As the motor for use in hybrid automobiles, there has been employed a synchronous motor being small in size and capable of generating a high torque, and having embedded therein a permanent magnet. To extract the torque of the synchronous motor to a maximum extent, vector control is generally used.  FIG. 8  is an exemplary control block diagram of such vector control. Current commands are calculated according to speed ω and torque command τr generated by accelerator or brake command. Based on three-phase output current and magnetic pole position θ detected by a magnetic pole position detector  18 , the three-phase current is coordinate-converted to d-q coordinates to produce iq and id. Current control signals Vqr and Vdr are generated according to iq and id and current commands idr and iqr. Further, re-conversion from d-q coordinates to three phases is performed, and a driver IC  50  generates a PWM signal and drives an insulated gate bipolar transistor (hereinafter referred to as an IGBT)  19  of an inverter. At this time, dead-time error compensation is performed on the signal which has been subjected to the re-conversion from d-q coordinates to three phases.  
         [0006]     For such vector control, a current sensor  17  for measuring an output current of the inverter is essential. In such current sensor, there are provided a core (not shown), a hall element and an amplifier; a gap is provided in part of the core disposed around the current bus, and the magnetic field generated by the current to be detected is detected by the hall element disposed within the gap and converted to a voltage.  
         [0007]     In Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-32476 (descriptions in FIGS.  1  to  4 ), there is described a technique in which as current detecting means not using a current sensor, a sense section is provided separately from a section having flowing therethrough the principal current of an IGBT  19  or power MOSFET, whereby the current is detected.  
         [0008]      FIG. 9  shows an exemplary cross sectional structure of an IGBT having a sense section. A plurality of p layers  103 A and n+ layers  104 B, which are sections having flowing therethrough the principal current, are connected by a principal emitter electrode  120 . The sections (p layers  103 A and n+ layers  104 B) having flowing therethrough a sense current are connected to a sense emitter electrode  121 . Though not shown, gate electrodes  111 A and  111 B are all connected. The current flowing through the IGBT is proportional to the width (gate width) of n+ layers  104 A and  104 B. Accordingly, when a current (sense current) of the sense section is measured, a principal current can be measured based on the ratio between the gate width of n+ layer  104 B of the sense section and that of n+ layer  104 A of the principal emitter.  
         [0009]      FIG. 10  shows an exemplary circuit for measuring a principal current according to the sense current. A voltage generated in a resistor Rs by sense current Is is measured by a voltage detector  16 , and principal current Im is measured by multiplying sense current Is by the gate width ratio of n+ layer  104 A of the principal emitter. In the present circuit, when the voltage detected by the voltage detector is a set voltage or more, it is determined that an excess current status occurs, thus cutting off the IGBT.  
         [0010]     In the above described technique using a current sensor, the current sensor, composed of plural components, is costly. Furthermore, a magnetic core is used in the current sensor, so the magnetic force is lost at high temperature, and thus the current sensor cannot be used at high temperature.  
         [0011]      FIG. 11  shows output characteristics of IGBT and power MOSFET. In power MOSFET, current is proportional to voltage ranging from 0 V. In contrast, in IGBT, current hardly flows when voltage is low, and current sharply increases at a certain voltage value or more. Also, in power MOSFET, current decreases in inverse proportion to temperature. In contrast, in IGBT, the voltage value at which current begins to rise, lowers as temperature rises, but once current rises, the slope of current relative to voltage becomes smaller. In this way, the voltage-current characteristics of IGBT are non-linear and vary in a nonlinear manner relative to temperature, so it is difficult to accurately measure a principal current according to the sense current.  
         [0012]     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electric power converter including means for detecting a principal current of IGBT with high accuracy.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]     An electric power conversion device according to the present invention comprises principal current estimation means for receiving a sense current and an output of temperature measuring means which is disposed in the same semiconductor substrate as an IGBT including an emitter having flowing therethrough a principal current and a sense emitter having flowing therethrough a sense current proportional to the principal current, and thereby estimating the principal current.  
         [0014]     With the electric power conversion device according to the present invention, a current flowing through the principal emitter can be accurately measured. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]      FIG. 1  is an explanatory view of a current detection circuit according to Embodiment 1;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional explanatory view of an IGBT having a temperature sensor and a current sense region according to Embodiment 1;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is an explanatory view of the waveform of the current flowing through a principal IGBT 1  and a sense IGBT 2  when turned off;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is an explanatory view of another current detection circuit according to Embodiment 1;  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is an explanatory view of a current detection circuit according to Embodiment 2;  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  is an explanatory view of a current detection circuit according to Embodiment 3;  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  is an explanatory view of a current detection circuit according to Embodiment 4;  
         [0022]      FIG. 8  is an explanatory view of a conventional synchronous motor control block;  
         [0023]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional explanatory view of an IGBT having a conventional sense region;  
         [0024]      FIG. 10  is an explanatory view of a current detection circuit using a conventional sense IGBT; and  
         [0025]      FIG. 11  is an explanatory view of the characteristic of IGBT and power MOSFET. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]     The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.  
       Embodiment 1  
       [0027]     The present embodiment is shown in  FIG. 1 . In  FIG. 1 , there is shown one IGBT from among six IGBTs constituting an inverter outputting a three-phase frequency-variable alternating current, and there are omitted a gate drive circuit section of the IGBT, and a control section outputting a PWM signal to the gate drive circuit section; these sections constitute the electric power conversion device. The IGBT according to the present embodiment comprises a principal IGBT 1  controlling the principal current of the electric power conversion device and a sense IGBT 2  having a smaller gate width than that of the principal IGBT 1 . The gate being the control terminal of the principal IGBT 1  and the sense IGBT 2  is shared, and the collector being the principal terminal of one of the IGBTs is shared. A resistor  10  is connected to the sense IGBT 2 ; one end thereof has the same potential as the emitter of the principal IGBT, and is connected to the ground in the example of  FIG. 1 . A differential amplifier  11  is connected to both ends of the resistor  10 . The output of the differential amplifier  11  is supplied to an A/D converter  21 A of a microcomputer  20 . The microcomputer  20  includes a calculation unit  22  and a memory  23 . The memory  23  of the microcomputer  20  has stored therein the temperature dependence of the ratio between the current flowing through the principal IGBT 1  and that flowing through the sense IGBT 2 . Further, IGBT temperature information is transmitted from a temperature sensor  30  to the microcomputer  20  via an A/D converter  21 B.  
         [0028]     The operation of the present embodiment will now be described. A current proportional to the current of the principal IGBT 1  flows through the sense IGBT 2 , and further this current is converted to a voltage by the resistor  10 . When the voltage of the resistor  10  is large, an error occurs in the ON voltage of the principal IGBT 1  and sense IGBT 2 , causing the gate width and the current ratio of the principal IGBT 1  and sense IGBT 2  to collapse. Hence, the voltage generated in both ends of the resistor  10  is desirably substantially smaller than the ON voltage of the IGBT; specifically, it is desirably 0.2 V or less. Such small voltage is too low to be converted by the A/D converter  21 A, so the differential amplifier  11  amplifies it to a voltage readable by the A/D converter  21 A. According to the sense current information from the A/D converter  21 A and the temperature information from the A/D converter  21 B, the microcomputer  20  estimates a principal current from a data table or a conversion formula of the temperature dependence of the ratio between the current flowing through the sense IGBT 2  and that flowing through the principal IGBT 1 , which is stored on the memory previously. In such a manner, according to the present embodiment, a principal current can be measured with high accuracy without using a current sensor  17 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 2  shows an exemplary cross-sectional view of a preferable temperature sensor according to the present embodiment. A description will be given below in which a silicon substrate is used as the semiconductor substrate. However, semiconductor substrates of other kinds may be used. On p layer  100 , there is formed n layer  101 . Within n− layer  102 , there are formed a plurality of p layers  103 A. Within p layer  103 A, there is formed n+ layer  104 A. Gate oxide film  110 A is formed across p layer  103 A, n+ layer  104 A and n− layer  102 . Further, gate electrode  111 A is formed in gate oxide film  110 A. Principal emitter electrode  120  is formed in an ohmic contact with a plurality of p layers  103 A and n+ layers  104 A.  
         [0030]     Principal emitter electrode  120  and gate oxide film  110 A are insulated and separated from each other by insulating film  112 A. Collector electrode  122  is in an ohmic contact with p layer  100 . The principal IGBT 1  is formed of p layer  103 A, n+ layer  104 A, n− layer  102 , gate oxide film  110 A, gate electrode  111 A, insulation film  112 A and principal emitter electrode  120 . Similarly, the sense IGBT 2  is formed of p layer  103 B, n+ layer  104 B, n− layer  102 , gate oxide film  110 B, gate electrode  111 B, insulation film  112 B and sense emitter electrode  121 .  
         [0031]     Further, on insulation film  123 , there are formed n+ layer  105  and p layer  106  of polysilicon. Cathode electrode  124  is in an ohmic contact with n+ layer  105 . Anode electrode  125  is in an ohmic contact with p layer  106 . A diode is formed of n+ layer  105 , p layer  106 , cathode electrode  124  and anode electrode  125  described above.  
         [0032]     According to the present embodiment, a current of a predetermined value is made to flow through the diode to generate a forward direction voltage drop. The temperature detection is performed according to that forward direction voltage drop. More specifically, the forward direction voltage drop of a diode becomes smaller as the temperature decreases; thus the relationship between the forward direction voltage drop and the temperature is preliminarily measured and the result is stored in the memory  23 , whereby a temperature is accurately detected. Also, since the temperature detection diode, the principal IGBT 1  and the sense IGBT 2  are disposed on the same chip, the temperature measurement can be performed with higher accuracy and at a faster pace compared to when the temperature measurement is preformed by a separate component such as a thermistor.  
         [0033]      FIG. 3  shows the waveform of the current flowing through the principal IGBT 1  and the sense IGBT 2  when turned off. Current Is flowing through the sense IGBT 2  increases transiently, and then decreases similarly to the principal current of the principal IGBT 1 .  
         [0034]     The reason for this will be described with reference to  FIG. 2 . Power MOSFET is a unipolar device in which an electron or a hole carries the current alone. Electrons are laterally distributed to the same extent as the thickness of n− layer  102 . Thus when a comparison between the principal IGBT 1  and sense IGBT 2  is made with respect to the ratio between the chip area and the number of accumulated holes, it can be seen that the sense IGBT 1  accumulates more holes than the principal IGBT 1  does. In the steady state, current is proportional to the flow of electrons. Therefore, the current of the principal IGBT 1  and that of the sense IGBT 2  are proportional to the widths of n+ layers  104 A and  104 B, respectively. Meanwhile, when turned off, the sense IGBT 2  pours out more holes than the principal IGBT 1  does, according to the ratio of area therebetween, so a larger current flows transiently through the sense IGBT 2 . Thus, according to the present embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 4 , a filter  31  is provided between the output of the differential amplifier  11  and the A/D converter  21 A. The filter  31  is a low-pass filter eliminating a rapid-change component, i.e., a high-frequency component from the output signal of the differential amplifier  11 . The cut-off frequency of the low-pass filter must be higher than the frequency at which a gate signal for driving the IGBT can pass. Specifically, the cut-off frequency may be higher than the carrier frequency of PWM signal, and is preferably a frequency higher than two times the carrier frequency. The filter  31  may be a passive filter composed of a resistor, a capacitor or a coil, or alternatively an active filter using a discrete element, such as a transistor or an FET, or an IC such as an operational amplifier.  
         [0035]     According to the present embodiment, by disposing the filter in this way, the current ratio between the principal IGBT and sense IGBT is prevented from transiently collapsing. As shown in  FIG. 4 , by virtue of provision of the filter  31 , a transient deviance of the current ratio between the principal IGBT and sense IGBT is eliminated, and after the elimination, the information is transmitted to the microcomputer  20 , whereby the current measurement can be performed more accurately.  
         [0036]     The present embodiment has been described by taking a three-phase inverter as an example of the electric power converter. However, the present invention can also be applied to the principal current detection in a semiconductor power switching device of an electric power converter such as a DC/DC converter or an AC/DC converter.  
       Embodiment 2  
       [0037]      FIG. 5  shows the present embodiment. The difference between the present embodiment and Embodiment 1 is that the output of the differential amplifier  11  is subjected to pulse width modulation and then transmitted to the microcomputer  20 . The output of the differential amplifier  11  is supplied to one terminal (the + side) of a comparator  12 . A signal from a triangular wave generator  13  is supplied to the other terminal (the − side) of the comparator  12 . The output of the comparator  12  is supplied to a counter  32  incorporated into the microcomputer  20 . Instead of the counter  32 , a timer may receive the output.  
         [0038]     The operation according to the present embodiment is as follows. By comparing the output of the differential amplifier  11  with the signal of the triangular wave generator  13 , the output of the differential amplifier  11  is converted to a corresponding pulse width. By measuring this pulse width, the counter  32  can measure a voltage of the differential amplifier. By converting the output of the differential amplifier  11  to a pulse width in this way, noise components are averaged by the triangular wave period, so the noise influence is reduced.  
         [0039]     In the present embodiment, it is desirable that the relationship between the voltage of the differential amplifier and the ratio of the pulse width to the triangular wave period is preliminarily stored in the memory  23  of the microcomputer  20 , whereby the calculation unit  22  restores the pulse width to a voltage.  
         [0040]     When the ambient temperature varies, the period and the upper and lower limits of the triangular wave generator  13  vary. Thus the pulse width also varies as the temperature varies. However, the variation in the ratio between the pulse width and the triangular wave period is small, so sufficient accuracy can be secured.  
       Embodiment 3  
       [0041]      FIG. 6  shows the present embodiment. The difference between the present embodiment and Embodiment 2 is that an insulation circuit  33  being signal insulation transmission means is disposed between the output of the comparator  12  and the counter  32 . According to the present embodiment, even when the ground voltage of the IGBT and that of the microcomputer  20  are different from each other, for example, even when the IGBT is disposed in the inverter upper arm, a current can be measured. As the insulation circuit  33 , a photocoupler or a pulse transformer is preferable.  
         [0042]     In the present embodiment, a photocoupler or a pulse transformer is used as the insulation circuit  33 . However, such insulation circuit  33  cannot transmit an analog signal. Thus, according to the present embodiment, similarly to Embodiment 2, a current signal is converted to a signal having a corresponding pulse width; current information from the IGBT is converted to a digital signal. As described above, according to the present embodiment, by using as the insulation circuit  33  a photocoupler or a pulse transformer, current information from the IGBT can be transmitted to the microcomputer  20  having a different ground voltage.  
       Embodiment 4  
       [0043]      FIG. 7  shows the present embodiment. The difference between the present embodiment and Embodiment 2 is that there are further provided a differential amplifier  14  amplifying a voltage induced in a wiring inductance  40  of the principal IGBT, an integration circuit  15  integrating the voltage, and an A/D converter  21 C incorporated into the microcomputer  20  receiving the integration result.  
         [0044]     When the current of inductance L varies dI/dt as time passes, voltage V expressed as formula 1 is generated. 
 
 V=L×dI/dt   (formula 1) 
 
         [0045]     Then, as shown in formula 2, 
 
 I =∫( V/L ) dt   (formula 2) 
 
         [0046]     A current is obtained by dividing a voltage induced in the wiring inductance  40  of the principal IGBT by the inductance value and then integrating the resultant value. Due to the integral calculation, the response tends to be delayed. Thus, preferably, the technique of measuring a current flowing through the sense IGBT by use of the method described in Embodiments 1 to 3 is simultaneously used. When the measurement is performed in such a manner, the response is improved and at the same time a dual system for measuring a current is implemented, so reliability is also increased.