This letter proposes a novel single passive gate driver solution based on passive devices to control series-connected power semiconductor devices for dc circuit breaker (DCCB) applications. The transient suppression devices (e.g., metal oxide varistors) are utilized to achieve natural voltage balancing among the series devices, while providing the discharge path of the gate capacitor of the upper devices. The proposed method is very simple, cost effective and more compact compared with conventional voltage balancing method-based DCCBs. Besides, gate voltage oscillation during the voltage recovery process is mitigated by the addition of an extra gate capacitor. Simulation and experimental results are provided to verify the effectiveness of proposed method.

中文翻译：

---

用于直流断路器应用中串联功率器件的单个无源栅极驱动器

这封信提出了一种基于无源器件的新型单无源栅极驱动器解决方案，以控制直流断路器 (DCCB) 应用的串联功率半导体器件。瞬态抑制器件（例如，金属氧化物压敏电阻）用于实现串联器件之间的自然电压平衡，同时提供上层器件的栅极电容器的放电路径。与传统的基于电压平衡方法的 DCCB 相比，所提出的方法非常简单、具有成本效益且更紧凑。此外，电压恢复过程中的栅极电压振荡可以通过添加额外的栅极电容器来减轻。仿真和实验结果验证了所提出方法的有效性。