Recent developments in medium-voltage (MV) silicon and silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor devices are challenging state-of-the-art converter and auxiliary power supply (APS) designs. The APS is an important converter component, which energizes the gate-drive units and, therefore, has an influence on the overall reliability and efficiency of the converter system. There has, however, been comparably little research on how the APS of high-power converter submodules can be realized, in particular, for high-voltage applications. New, or improved, solutions may build on state-of-the-art topologies in the near future, but utilize MV SiC technology in the APS circuit itself to enable improved efficiency, reliability, simplicity, and compactness. Externally-fed APS concepts could provide several further advantages. Their various benefits on converter and system level may enable them to be a competitive solution for future APS concepts. Especially, light-based power supply systems are considered most useful since they offer extreme voltage isolation capability and immunity to electromagnetic interference. This article presents a review of the wide range of solutions for APSs, possible implementation options, and the most important design considerations. The different solutions are evaluated in a qualitative fashion, providing an overview of available APS concepts with regard to the requirements for high-power converter applications.

Recent advancements in silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor technology enable developments in the high-power sector, e.g., high-voltage-direct-current (HVdc) converters for transmission, where today silicon (Si) devices are state-of-the-art. New submodule (SM) topologies for modular multilevel converters offer benefits in combination with these new SiC semiconductors. This article reviews developments in both fields, SiC power semiconductor devices and SM topologies, and evaluates their combined performance in relation to core requirements for HVdc converters: grid code compliance, reliability, and cost. A detailed comparison of SM topologies regarding their structural properties, design and control complexity, voltage capability, losses, and fault handling is given. Alternatives to state-of-the-art SMs with Si insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) are proposed, and several promising design approaches are discussed. Most advantages can be gained from three technology features. First, SM bipolar capability enables dc fault handling and reduced the energy storage requirements. Second, SM topologies with parallel conduction paths in combination with SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors offer reduced losses. Third, a higher SM voltage enabled by a higher blocking voltage of SiC devices results in a reduced converter complexity. For the latter, ultrahigh-voltage bipolar devices, such as SiC IGBTs and SiC gate turn-off thyristors, are envisioned.

Recent developments in high-voltage (HV) silicon and silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor devices are challenging state-of-the-art converter and auxiliary power supply (APS) designs. There has been comparably little research on how the APS of converter submodules can be realized. The APS is, however, an important converter component, which energizes the gate-drive units and, therefore, has an influence on the overall reliability and efficiency of the converter system. The wide range of possible solutions for APSs motivates an overview of state-ofthe- art and alternative concepts. Such a review is presented in this article, along with a qualitative evaluation regarding APS requirements for high-power converter applications.

Moreover, future prospects of internal and external APS designs are discussed. Internal solutions may build on state-of-the-art topologies in the near future, but utilize HV SiC technology in the APS circuit itself to enable improved efficiency, reliability, simplicity, and compactness. The active voltage-divider-based APS is a promising concept if the required power is relatively low. Series-connected bootstrap circuits or snubber-based power tapping could provide a reduction of complexity and cost.

It is recognized that several advantages are achievable by employing external APS concepts. Light-based power supply systems, comparably expensive today but under rapid development and with optimistic cost predictions, are considered most useful in this respect. Their extreme voltage isolation capability and immunity to electromagnetic interference, combined with various benefits on converter and system level, enable them to be a competitive solution for future APS concepts

In order to enable the massive introduction of renewable energies the need for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) grids is anticipated. Large, globally interconnected HVDC networks will likely be the most cost-efficient means to balance electricity demand and available generation. In a meshed system it is important to ensure reliability, robustness, failure management, and fast protection of equipment. In case of a failure somewhere in the grid, the remaining system must be kept operational. State-of-the-art converter implementations are either not adapted to future system requirements or lead to increased losses, cost, and converter footprint. Therefore, this thesis examines several aspects of how to improve the HVDC converter design and functionality with the ultimate aim of developing reliable, highly efficient, cost-effective, more compact and lightweight converters.

Advancements are made on several levels of the converter hardware hierarchy. Main circuits, submodule (SM) topologies, and auxiliary power supply (APS) concepts are investigated and new solutions are proposed. On main-circuit level, different voltage-source converters (VSCs) are evaluated in terms of their energy storage elements. This is useful to compare the physical volume of capacitors required by each topology and, thus, to address the need to develop more compact converter stations. The theoretical analysis indicates that the required energy storage of the alternate arm converter (AAC) is smaller compared to the modular multilevel converter (MMC).

On SM level, new topologies are evaluated with the goal to find topologies, which enable efficient handling of dc-side short circuits, reduction of power loss, and lower SM capacitance. The semi-full-bridge (SFB) SM is identified as one of the most promising topologies from this point of view and is investigated in detail. A control concept for capacitor balancing and several options for improved operation of the SFB are presented. Furthermore, a novel SM cluster topology is proposed which features low conduction losses and increased protection against explosion.

The availability of a reliable APS system is crucial for equipment in future HVDC grids. Therefore, APS solutions are investigated considering design complexity, reliable performance, and power consumption. This thesis presents a novel combined optical power and data transmission concept which is tailored to the specific requirements of HVDC converters employing high-voltage (HV) silicon carbide (SiC) devices. The proposed concept offers a robust solution for isolated APS and signal transmission across any voltage barrier.

In this paper, power-over-fiber technology is used for combined power and data transfer applying amplitude-modulated light representing a pulse-width modulated signal that could be used for control of, for instance, power semiconductor devices in high-power converters. Even though the concept is generally applicable, an experimental verification aiming for a gate-driver of a switch in a modular multilevel converter is presented. In order to achieve a good resilience against electromagnetic noise, a concept where the modulated light is demodulated as a comparably powerful current signal is employed. A 5 MHz boost converter steps up the voltage to 15-20 V, such that silicon or silicon-carbide based power devices could be controlled. From the results, it can be concluded that it is possible to achieve transmission of a control signal with a latency of less than 500 ns for a gate drive unit of a high-power converter. The concept can easily be scaled up to powers of several watt.

Future meshed high-voltage direct current grids require modular multilevel converters with extended functionality. One of the most interesting new submodule topologies is the semi-full-bridge because it enables efficient handling of DC-side short circuits while having reduced power losses compared to an implementation with full-bridge submodules. However, the semi-full-bridge submodule requires the parallel connection of capacitors during normal operation which can cause a high redistribution current in case the voltages of the two submodule capacitors are not equal. The maximum voltage difference and resulting redistribution current have been studied analytically, by means of simulations and in a full-scale standalone submodule laboratory setup. The most critical parameter is the capacitance mismatch between the two capacitors. The experimental results from the full-scale prototype show that the redistribution current peaks at 500A if the voltage difference is 10V before paralleling and increases to 2500A if the difference is 40V. However, neglecting very unlikely cases, the maximum voltage difference predicted by simulations is not higher than 20-30V for the considered case. Among other measures, a balancing controller is proposed which reduces the voltage difference safely if a certain maximum value is surpassed. The operating principle of the controller is described in detail and verified experimentally on a down-scaled submodule within a modular multilevel converter prototype. It can be concluded that excessively high redistribution currents can be prevented. Consequently, they are no obstacle for using the semi-full-bridge submodule in future HVDC converters.

In this paper, a novel submodule cluster topologyfor modular multilevel converters is proposed. The cluster iscomposed of an arbitrary amount of submodule segments. Dependingon the amount of capacitors in the cluster, the converterconduction losses can be reduced significantly. The topologyenables electronic protection against explosion, thus, reducingthe requirements for submodule bypass equipment. Implicationsfor the converter operation and functionality are investigated anda wireless control scheme is proposed.

As regards modular multilevel converter submodules, a different number of switches may be involved in the transitions between voltage levels depending on the submodule type and choice of switching states. In this paper, an investigation of the average switching frequency associated with different choices of bypass states is performed for the semi-full-bridge submodule. Theoretical considerations and simulation results show that the average switching frequency per device can be halved by using the proposed alternative bypass state. Moreover, the switching losses can be reduced by up to 60%. Finally, a comparative study with the full-bridge submodule has been conducted.

An investigation of the voltage imbalance of the two capacitors of the semi-full-bridge submodule is performed. Since the capacitances are not exactly the same, there may be a difference between the capacitor voltages. The resulting current-spike when they are connected in parallel has been analyzed in a full-scale laboratory experiment.

The surge current capability of the body-diode of SiC MOSFETs is experimentally analyzed in order to investigate the possibility of using SiC MOSFETs for HVDC applications. SiC MOSFET discrete devices and modules have been tested with surge currents up to 10 times the rated current and for durations up to 2 ms. Although the presence of stacking faults cannot be excluded, the experiments reveal that the failure may occur due to the latch-up of the parasitic n-p-n transistor located in the SiC MOSFET.