Applications of IGBT

Now-a-days the IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) is extensively applied in the transportation, renewable power generation, consumer, aircraft, medical, industrial and financial sectors all worldwide. As a result, billions of people from around the globe are enjoying enhanced comfort, convenience, and quality of life. IGBTs are known for their fantastic efficiency and speedy switching characteristics.

 These qualities make IGBTs very suitable for applications where saving energy and protecting the environment are very important. IGBTs are being used in almost all sectors of our economy because there isn’t any exact alternative available which can be used in place IGBT and can offer same advantages.

Over the last 20 years, the cumulative influence of the advanced capability of IGBT-powered applications has been an aggregate worth savings of $ 2.7 Trillion for U.S. consumers and $ 15.8 Trillion for consumers all over the world. On the other hand, the developed efficiency generated by IGBT-powered applications has propagated a cumulative lessening in carbon dioxide emissions by 35 Trillion pounds in the United States and 78 Trillion pounds worldwide during the last 20 years. So, the IGBT has already had a key impact to make a sustainable world-wide society with advanced living standards along with alleviating the environmental impact.

After its conception in the early 1980s, the applications for IGBTs have been incessantly spreading. It has already had a great impact on: the transportation sector, the consumer sector, automation sector, industrial sector, medical sector, aerospace sector, marine sector, defense sector; financial sector, power transmission and distribution sector, renewable energy power generation sector and many other sectors of the economy.

What would happen if all the IGBT were removed from the applications that they serve today?” The answer is quite revealing: Our new solar and wind based renewable energy sources would not be able to deliver power to the grid because the inverters would stop functioning. Our gasoline power cars would stop running because the electronic ignition systems would no longer function. Our hybrid electric and electric cars would stop running because the inverters used to deliver power from the batteries to the motors would no longer function. Our electric mass-transit systems would come to a standstill because the inverters used to deliver power from the power-grid to the motors would no longer function. Our air-conditioning systems in homes and offices would stop working because the inverters used to deliver power from the utility company to the heat-pumps and compressors would no longer function. Our refrigerators and vending machines would no longer function making the delivery and storage of perishable products impossible. Our factories would come to a grinding halt because the numerical controls use to run the robots would cease to function. Our new low-energy compact fluorescent bulbs would stop functioning limiting our activities to the daytime. Our portable defibrillators recently deployed in emergency vehicles, on-board airplanes, and in office buildings would no longer be operational putting over 100,000 people at the risk of death from cardiac failure.

In one statement, the quality of life in our society would be greatly deteriorated if the IGBT is no longer available. It’s a blessing of modern science.

http://www.USComponent.com had been selling IGBT power transistor modules since 2001. Thyssen Krupp, OTIS, IXYS, SONY DADC, General Motors, Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited, Singapore Mass Rapid Transit Trains LTD, Verkehrsbetriebe Zurich, Czech Airlines, Molex, Cisco, Omron, Good Year Tires, Thai Airasia, Boeing, Xilinx, LEAR SIEGLER, and General Electric.

http://www.USComponent.com has a Quality Control Team like no other. This means that we know how to work hard in order to ensure to make sure that the quality of all of the parts we’re selling is high. Because we only sell new and original electronic parts, we provide our customers with a 30-day warranty. And because we have connections with IGBT power transistor modules manufacturers, OEMs and distributors, we’re able to pass any savings on to our customers, giving them a lower price while still providing them with the quality products they deserve. Our inventory is carefully managed and held to the highest standards, and stored in a controlled environment warehousing facility.

• See more at: http://www.uscomponent.com/uscomponent/blog

IGBT vs MOSFET

Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) and Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) are the two most popular versions among various types of switch-mode power supply (SMPS) transistors are available today. It has been observed that MOSFETs are suitable for low-voltage, low-current and high switching frequencies. On the other hand, IGBTs are favorable for high-voltage, high-current and low switching frequencies.

There may be an argument that on which device works better in SMPS applications, the fact is this: there’s no common norm to specify which device performs better in a particular category of circuit. It differs from application to application, and a wide range of factors, such as speed, size, and cost, all play a role to ordain the exact choice.

Now we are going to enlighten on the differences between these two transistors rather than say that one is better than the other straight away.

The MOSFET is a three-terminal fully-controlled switch. Gate, drain and source are its three terminals. The gate/control signal occurs between the gate and source, and its switch terminals are the drain and source. The gate itself is made of metal. A metal oxide separates it from the source and drain. This grants for reduced power draining and makes MOSFET an excellent option to use as an electronic switch or common-source amplifier.

To operate satisfactorily, a positive temperature coefficient has to be sustained by MOSFETs. As a result of this, there’s little-to-no chance of thermal runaway. On-state losses are lower because the transistor’s on-state-resistance, theoretically speaking, has no limit. Also, MOSFETs can carry through fast switching applications with little turn-off losses because they can function at high frequencies.

The IGBT is also a three terminal (gate, collector, and emitter) full-controlled switch. Its gate/control signal takes place between the gate and emitter, and its switch terminals are the drain and emitter.

The IGBT puts the common gate-drive feature found in the MOSFET with the high-current and low-saturation-voltage capability of a bipolar transistor at the same time. It does this by utilizing an isolated gate field effect transistor for the control input, and a bipolar power transistor as a switch.

Turning on and off rapidly are the specific characteristics of IGBT. Actually its pulse repetition frequency really gets into the ultrasonic extent. This identical ability is why IGBTs are frequently implemented in amplifiers to synthesize complex waveforms with pulse width modulation and low-pass filters. IGBTs are also used to yield big power pulses in fields like particle and plasma physics, and have set up a role in modern appliances like electric cars, trains, elevators, refrigerators, vacuum cleaner etc.

These transistors are very similar in terms of structures. When it comes to electron current flow, a significant difference is the addition of a p-substrate layer beneath the n-substrate layer in the IGBT. In this extra layer, holes are injected into the highly-resistive n-layer, generating a carrier overflow. This increment in conductivity within the n-layer assists to lessen the total on-state voltage of the IGBT. Unfortunately, it also obstructs reverse current flow. As a result, an extra diode (often referred to as a “freewheeling” diode) gets placed parallel with the IGBT to conduct the current in an inverse direction.

Http://www.USComponent.com had been selling IGBT power transistor modules since 2001. Thyssen Krupp, OTIS, IXYS, SONY DADC, General Motors, Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited, Singapore Mass Rapid Transit Trains LTD, Verkehrsbetriebe Zurich, Czech Airlines, Molex, Cisco, Omron, Good Year Tires, Thai Airasia, Boeing, Xilinx, LEAR SIEGLER, and General Electric.

Http://www.USComponent.com has a Quality Control Team like no other. This means that we know how to work hard in order to ensure to make sure that the quality of all of the parts we’re selling is high. Because we only sell new and original electronic parts, we provide our customers with a 30-day warranty. And because we have connections with IGBT power transistor modules manufacturers, OEMs and distributors, we’re able to pass any savings on to our customers, giving them a lower price while still providing them with the quality products they deserve. Our inventory is carefully managed and held to the highest standards, and stored in a controlled environment warehousing facility.

• Read more at:http://www.uscomponent.com/uscomponent/igbt-vs-mosfet/

IGBT and public transit

IGBT plays an important role in public transit these days.

Suburban railway systems, one of major public transit tools, are trusted by a huge number of mass people from all over the world for their regular travel to and from work. Beside the urban transit system, electric trains have turned into a common way for travelling within metropolises in Europe and Asia. Very fast bullet trains in China, Japan and Europe enable journey by massive numbers of people by not consuming fossil fuel. Petrol/octane fueled cars and gasoline powered aircraft liquidates fossil fuel which is very bad for our environment. IGBT develops the motor drive technology greatly by ejecting snubber circuits and enhancing the operating frequency of the inverter circuit implemented to provide power to the motors.

Train traction has become one of the utmost taxing applications for power electronic modules due to the tough weather influences like moisture, dust and comprehensive temperature span. Power electronic gets into trouble from the trembles within the trains besides the electric and thermal load. The high number of acceleration and deceleration rounding operation causes extreme demands concerning power and thermal-cycling ability.

High potent IGBT modules are applied to meet the special needs of this particular infliction. These modules are specifically designed to be used in transportation and analogous applications. For achieving dependable, secure and cost-effective operation, IGBT devices in voltage classes 3.3KV, 4.5KV and 6.5KV with improved mechanized and thermionic features are placed in trains around the world.

High-speed switching IGBTs are used in main circuits by modern train traction systems. This high-speed switching lessens electromagnetic noise which is generated by the primary motor and enhances the efficiency of energy conversion. Traction system for trains employ an induction motor as the main driving motor and a VVVF inverter as a control unit, and they have improved remarkably as AC equipment especially because the main circuit semiconductor elements have rapidly improved. Today, more than 20 years after the initiation of application, new equipment is 100% designed for AC driving. Since the history of the shift to AC has largely depended on the technological advancement of main circuit semiconductors, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is in an advantageous position in the industry, with the development of main circuit semiconductors, the manufacturing of chips, and the assembly tests of conductors all performed successively within the company.

Now-a-days, main circuit semiconductors usually employ a two-level main circuit configuration, consisting of IGBTs that can perform driving control with low power consumption, and an intelligent power module (IPM) that is equipped with a driver and protection functions. The main circuit semiconductors available today have much more delicate mechanisms which are becoming closer to ideal converters.

USComponent.com had been selling IGBT power transistor modules since 2001. Thyssen Krupp, OTIS, IXYS, SONY DADC, General Motors, Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited, Singapore Mass Rapid Transit Trains LTD, Verkehrsbetriebe Zurich, Czech Airlines, Molex, Cisco, Omron, Good Year Tires, Thai Airasia, Boeing, Xilinx, LEAR SIEGLER, and General Electric.

 USComponent.com has a Quality Control Team like no other. This means that we know how to work hard in order to ensure to make sure that the quality of all of the parts we’re selling is high. Because we only sell new and original electronic parts, we provide our customers with a 30-day warranty. And because we have connections with IGBT power transistor modules manufacturers, OEMs and distributors, we’re able to pass any savings on to our customers, giving them a lower price while still providing them with the quality products they deserve. Our inventory is carefully managed and held to the highest standards, and stored in a controlled environment warehousing facility.

• See more at:  USComponent.com BLOG 

David Smith, Senior Vice President of USComponent.com </a>, an IGBT power transistor module distributor since 2001.