RE: Max operating frequency of CM100DY-24H

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Steve Conner" <steve.conner-at-optosci-dot-com> 

 >Can the PowerEx IGBT CM100DY-24H be used for tesla coils which switch at
 >50-70kHz frequency ?
 >Has anybody used it ?
 >The data sheet says "High Frequency Operation (20-25kHz)".

I believe it is made with the same H-series IGBT dice that are in the
CM600HA-24H, and every other Powerex part that ends with an H. The H-series
now have a decent track record in solid state Tesla coiling. Jason Judd,
Jimmy Hynes, and I have all used them successfully in OLTCs and DRSSTCs.

In particular, Jason runs a half-bridge of CM600s at 130kHz and many
thousands of amps. I was amazed that this worked- but it did and the
performance was impressive.

I think the secret is the series resonant primary that helps them to switch
faster without excessive losses (soft switching) and also the pulsed
operation lets them tolerate higher switching losses without melting.

The OLTC is another good way of teasing large sparks out of IGBTs, but you
need a single large IGBT, or a few in parallel, rather than half-bridge
modules. It may also work with the oldest and slowest IGBT modules, that are
too slow for a DRSSTC, but so far nobody has tried it.

Steve C.