High‐Isolation and Compact Wireless Power Supply for Gate Drivers of SiC Devices With Improved Class‐E Inverter

Gate drivers for high‐voltage silicon carbide (SiC) converters require a reliable power supply with strong isolation and compact size. However, existing gate driver power supplies (GDPS) with the transformer structure make it difficult to enhance the isolation performance while keeping the small coupling capacitance and volume. This paper firstly presents a novel wireless GDPS with an improved Class‐E inverter for high‐voltage energy harvesting applications. The proposed design requires only one switch and reduces the input inductor significantly. Meanwhile, it solves the issue of harmful surge currents and maintains a zero‐voltage‐switching state when the load changes. Finally, a compact wireless GDPS prototype is developed and the insulation characteristics are studied. Results demonstrate that the proposed design achieves isolation voltage up to 17.7 kV with the smallest size volume and extra‐low coupling capacitance of 1.83 pF.