Use of IGBT in Plasma Cutting and Welding

The definition of plasma cutting is cutting different electrically conductive materials (mainly metals such as steel, aluminum, brass and copper) of various sizes and breadth using a plasma jet. This torch of plasma is hot enough to thaw the material which is being cut and it moves fast to blow the ragged part away from the present cut. Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) are used in plasma cutting technology to improve the efficiency of commercial plasma cutting equipments.

IGBTbased plasma cutters suit better in professional environments such as industrial constructions, salvage and scrapping operations, fabrication and welding shops, automobile repair and restorations. The main reason behind this is IGBT plasma cutters take up a different method to start the pilot arc. Significant numbers of IGBT plasma metal cutters often deploy high frequency starting technology and high voltage circuit for the starting process only where the torch enables a constant arc without touching the work piece.

IGBT vs the MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semi-conductor Field Effect Transistor) has been an agitated topic ever since the IGBT technology came into being in the 1980's. IGBT technology for welding applications has clearly proved to more effectively handle the rigorous demands the high duty cycles welders as it offers higher voltage capacities and heat tolerances than the earlier MOSFETs.

Function of IGBT in UPS

The manufacturers of Uninterruptible Power Supplies face enormous contest as the UPS market is immensely competitive. Endeavors to uplift the performance and dependability of UPS units are going on constantly. A UPS can survive in the market if the components used in it can keep pace.

Spontaneous control, outstanding switching features and excellent reliability make IGBTs the perfect option today for medium and high-power UPS. These modules greatly enhance UPS performance, specifically in terms of proficiency, acoustic noise, shaped and weight.

In high capacity UPS where the inverter functions between 2 and 4 kHz, the prime benefit of the IGBT is simplification of transistor control (better reliableness). IGBT is comparable to the bipolar transistors in terms of efficiency.

In medium capacity UPS, which are often seen in computer rooms, the acoustic noise criterion makes it essential to eliminate the 50 or 60 Hz transformer and to attach an inverter operating at a frequency of 16 kHz, thus making the IGBT completely inevitable both because of the lessening in number of elements needed to control it and because of the increase in weight and aggregate dimensions.

Exceptional switching speed, effortless control and overload resistance of the IGBT make it a component of noteworthy interest in modern times.

Smallest Ever On-Chip Low-Pass Filter Invented

The world’s smallest on-chip low pass filter is 1,000 times smaller than current off-chip filters. It has been designed effectively by a research team from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.

The circuit that allows low-frequency signals to take across along with lowering unnecessary high-frequency signals from taking across is called a low-pass filter. In comparison to the current off-chip filters, which are separated and quite big, on-chip filters grab a little space on integrated circuit chips, which may be available in mobile devices such as cell phones, notebook computers, speed guns used to monitor traffic, as well as radars placed in vehicles.

Nanyang Technological University and Economic Development Board launched VIRTUS, a latest Integrated Circuit Design Centre of Excellence. The effectual accomplishment of this experiment project was declared just 10 months ago at the official opening of this new IC design centre of excellence.

Yeo Kiat Seng, head of circuits and systems at NTU's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering is the main person behind this innovation. It is expected that the advancement in design for this filter will revolutionize wireless communication.

"This new low-pass filter can lead to a significant improvement in signal quality as it removes nearly all unwanted interferences and noise in the environment," said Professor Yeo.

"This results in clearer reception and enhanced clarity for mobile phone users and users of wireless applications such as Bluetooth and other mobile devices. For example, if you are speaking to your friend on your mobile phone in a noisy food centre or in a train, you would still be able to hear him clearly."

"The filter also consumes less power and can be easily incorporated into existing integrated circuit chips at almost no cost. This means that in addition to better signal quality, consumers enjoy lower power consumption without any additional cost," he included.

A new horizon has been uncovered because of the invention of the new filter which leads more research and development of high-performance integrated circuits and wireless communication products. With this filter, integrated circuit chips can come to latest applications for transmitting digital audio/video data (uncompressed) and fast wireless local area networks for instant wireless file transfer.

IGBT in Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles

One of the rapidly growing and diversified industries is the automotive manufacturing, which is the largest with a broad extent in consumer preferences for model, easement and innovation. Everyone will profess that severe urban pollution is occurred by the gasoline powered vehicles when these consume dwindling fossil fuel resources. Expansion of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles is the most effective solution of this problem. We have to face serious technological challenges to achieve the worldwide goal to lessen the CO₂ discharge and fuel consumption with pioneering endeavors in evolving electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).

Motor drives based on IGBT have been used in all hybrid-electric and electric cars introduced into the market until now. IGBTs play the major role in new powertrain generations like EVs and HEVs to drive the electric motor or gather the energy. IGBTs are vulnerable to heating issues because they run at very high frequencies and under high power. Thermal characterization helps to optimize the IGBTs layout, structure and mounting to optimize its performance.

All hybrid-electric and electric cars that have been introduced into the market so far have relied up on IGBT-based motor drives. In new powertrain generations such as EVs and HEVs, IGBTs play the key role in order to drive the electric motor or store the energy. IGBTs run at very high frequencies and under high power which makes them vulnerable to thermal problems. After all we can say, the availableness of IGBTs has been diametrical to the advancement of the hybrid vehicles and to the expansion of the charging substructure for the electric vehicles. IGBTs will continue playing a very important part in the availability of cost deducting technology for the entire hybrid and electric vehicle business.

IGBT in Arc and Tube Welding

The usual usages of Arc and tube welding machines are to build and repair of the infrastructure in industrial environment. Welding power supplies are needed for creating an electric arc between an electrode and the foundation material to soften the metals at the welding point. Either DC or AC current with consumable or non-consumable electrodes may be used to generate the arc. Some type of inert or semi-inert gas is used sometimes to protect the welding region. Low capital and running cost are the main reasons behind the popularity of Arc welding. In case of arc welding, the voltage is involved right away with the length of the arc, and the current is involved with the sum of heat input with typical currents of 50 to 500 amps is conditional on the size of weld. For arc welding with less voltages and large currents, a soft switching PWM DC-DC power converter with IGBT switches in the elementary side of a high frequency transformer is considered to be the most compatible topology for the welding power supply. Power losses in the IGBTs are lessened by applying soft switching leading to a volume reduction of 59% and weight reduction of 47% in comparison to the hard-switching technique. Because of the operation at 40-kHz, progressive welding performance is enhanced in comparison to the 13-kHz with hard-switching.

An induction heating technique with high power and operating frequency is required by tube welding and quenching applications. For lessening switching loss, a multiple frequency converter circuit uses IGBTs with zero-current-switching (ZCS). For this reason, the operating frequency can be increased effortlessly up to 250-kHz which is adequate for quenching and arc welding.

Integrated Circuit Designs and Extensions

Dependability on semiconductor devices by the electronic systems is increasing day-by-day because the integration level is growing quicker than ever and it is necessary to pack more circuitry in the smallest packages. Various circuit components, which are required to complete computer systems such as, capacitors, transistors, resistors, etc, can be installed on an individual silicon die.

When a package holds individual silicon (silicon germanium for RF circuits, or gallium arsenide for microwave frequency circuits) that builds up either portion of a bigger electronic circuit or system or an entire electronic system in its own right is called an Integrated Circuit (IC). When a full electronic system is created by the IC, it is generally mentioned as a SoC (System on a Chip). Present-day communication ICs are of SoC designs.

MCM (Multichip Module) comprises more than one dies and it is an extension to the IC; we can say for example, circuits and sensors are to be accommodated in an individual package but which is not possible to be set up on an individual die. The MCM was mentioned as a hybrid circuit at the beginning, which consists of multiple ICs and inactive components on a common circuit base that are unified by conductors set up within that base. Complications related to size reduction and signal degradation can be alleviated by implementing MCM.

An extension to the IC is the multichip module (MCM), which contains multiple dies; for example, when sensors and circuits are to be housed in a single package but which cannot be fabricated on a single die. Originally referred to as a hybrid circuit, the MCM consists of two or more ICs and passive components on a common circuit base that are interconnected by conductors fabricated within that base. The MCM helps with size reduction problem and helps alleviate signal degradation.

Devices are piled vertically on system in a package (SiP), which is an extension to the MCM. Wire bonding to the substrate is usual. An extension to the SiP is the package on a package (PoP).

FPGA Design & Programming

A schematic design or a hardware description language (HDL) is provided by the user to define the behavior of the FPGA. The HDL form should be used to work with huge structures because it is feasible to exactly specify them by numbers rather than having to draw every piece manually. On the other hand, simpler visualization of a design is the main advantage of schematic entry.

Then, utilizing an electronic design automation tool, a technology-mapped netlist is created. The netlist can then be fitted to the real FPGA architecture using a method called place-and-route, usually executed by the FPGA Company’s proprietary place-and-route software. The user will validate the map, place and route results via timing analysis, simulation, and other verification methodologies. Once the design and validation process is done, the binary file generated (also using the FPGA company's proprietary software) is used to (re)configure the FPGA. This file is shifted to the FPGA/CPLD via a serial interface (JTAG) or to an external memory device.

VHDL and Verilog are the most common HDLs, though in order to minimize the complexity of designing in HDLs, which are in comparison to the equiponderant to the assembly languages, there are steps to increase the abstractiveness level through the introduction of substitute languages. For targeting and programming FPGA hardware, an FPGA add-in module is available to National Instruments' LabVIEW graphical programming language (sometimes referred to as "G").

Dual in-Line Package for Integrated Circuits

Dual in-line package (known as DIP or DIL) is one of the most common among many kinds of IC packages with distinguishable measures, mounting styles, and/or pin-enumerations. In terms of microelectronics, a package of electronic components which has two parallel lines of electrical connecting pins and cased in a rectangular housing is known as dual in-line package. It can be either inserted in a socket or through-hole ascended to a printed circuit board. In 1964, Don Forbes, Bryant Rogers and Rex Rice invented the dual-inline ordination at Fairchild Research & Development. It was during that period, when the limited number of leads obtainable on circular transistor-style packages became a restriction in the application of integrated circuits. Additional signal and power supply leads are needed by the more and more complex circuits (according to the Rent’s rule); in the end, microprocessors and analogous complicated devices needed leads to a greater extent than could be put on a DIP package, which leads to the development of highly dense packages. Moreover, rectangular & square packages made it effortless to route printed-circuit traces underneath the packages.

A DIP is generally mentioned as a DIPn, where n is the aggregate number of pins. We can say for example, a DIP14 microcircuit package would consist of two rows of seven vertical leads. Most common DIP packages have four (lowest) to 64 (at most). Numerous digital and analog IC types are attainable in DIP package forms.

FPGA and it’s Technical Design

Contemporaneous field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) have huge provision of logic gates and RAM blocks to execute complicated digital calculations. It is a challenge to verify right timing of valid data within setup time and hold time because FPGA designs employ very fast I/Os and bidirectional data buses. For meeting these time constraints, floor planning enables resources allocation. FPGAs can be used to implement any logical function that an ASIC could perform. The ability to update the functionality after shipping, partial re-configuration of a portion of the design and the low non-recurring engineering costs relative to an ASIC design (notwithstanding the generally higher unit cost), offer advantages for many applications.

Some FPGAs have analog features in addition to digital functions. The most common analog feature is programmable slew rate and drive strength on each output pin, allowing the engineer to set slow rates on lightly loaded pins that would otherwise ring or couple unacceptably, and to set stronger, faster rates on heavily loaded pins on high-speed channels that would otherwise run too slowly. Another relatively common analog feature is differential comparators on input pins designed to be connected to differential signaling channels. A few "mixed signal FPGAs" have integrated peripheral analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs) with analog signal conditioning blocks allowing them to operate as a system-on-a-chip. Such devices blur the line between an FPGA, which carries digital ones and zeros on its internal programmable interconnect fabric, and field-programmable analog array (FPAA), which carries analog values on its internal programmable interconnect fabric.

Xilinx and Field Programmable Gate Arrays

Semiconductor Devices which are founded around a matrix of configurable logic blocks (CLBs) and linked through programmable interconnects known as Field Programmable GateArrays (FPGAs). These semiconductors can be reprogrammed for the intended applications and operational necessities after manufacture. Because of this distinctive feature, FPGAs are different from Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). ASICs are custom made for particular applications. Though one-time programmable (OTP) FPGAs are there, most types are based on SRAM which can be reprogrammed as the design advances.

ASIC and FPGAs have various value propositions, and they require to be carefully assessed before choosing any one over the other. Information is easily available about comparison between these two technologies. Today’s FPGAs thrust the 500MHz performance hurdle without any problem, though FPGAs used to be chosen for lower volume/speed/complexity design traditionally. With unprecedented logic density increases and a host of other features, such as embedded processors, DSP blocks, clocking, and high-speed serial at ever lower price points, FPGAs are an enthralling choice for nearly any type of design.

FPGAs are perfectly suitable for various markets. Being the pioneer in the industry, Xilinx offers extensive solutions comprising FPGA devices, advanced software, and configurable, ready-to-use IP cores for markets and applications such as: Aerospace & Defense, ASIC Prototyping, Audio, Automotive, Broadcast, Consumer Electronics, Data Center, High Performance Computing and Data Storage, Industrial, Medical, Security, Video and image processing, wired communication and wireless communication.

SiC & GaN Power Semiconductors Market to Get Bigger 17-fold to $2.5 Billion Within 2023

Powered by increasing need for hybrid and electric vehicles, power supplies, photovoltaic (PV) inverters and various conventional applications, the rising worldwide market for gallium nitride power semiconductors and silicon carbide will get bigger by an aspect of 17 over the 10 years from 2013 (only $150 million) to 2023 ($2.5 billion), forecasts market research firm IHS Inc in the report 'The World Market for SiC & GaN Power Semiconductors - 2014 Edition.

SiC and GaN power semiconductors have been attempting to vindicate themselves in main applications for a several years now. Nevertheless, around 15% of the end market could comprise of latest applications utilizing these device technologies those are presently still two or three years away from production. Alongside with the market for hybrid and electric vehicles themselves, at present it is obvious that the market for electric vehicle charging infrastructure together with battery charging stations for plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles - is also a possible attractive field for SiC and GaN power devices.

No unanimous universal standard is there for hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) charging infrastructure, so there are different contending standards narrating the diverse modes or levels for AC and DC charging. Each of the miscellaneous AC levels can be taken into account for electro-mechanical system, which needs few, if any, power semiconductors. The IHS report hence only takes in account 'fast charging' or DC systems as these are AC-DC power supplies, transmuting power from the mains (generally three-phase) into very high currents of up to 125-400A at direct-current voltages up to 480-600VDC (distributing a highest power of 240kW).

Wireless power charges battery-operated apparatuses by emitting power via air instead of via power cables. Even though nearness within a stated limit is necessary, this new technology is acquiring popularity in cell phones, notebook computers, game controllers, tablets, electric vehicles, and other consumer products. The reception of SiC and GaN power semiconductors will be unimportant in inductive charging solutions, which are intended to consent with the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) Qi or Power Matters Alliance (PMA) standards whereas silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) are sufficient for the low frequencies engaged. In contradiction, the rapid-switching abilities of SiC and GaN power semiconductors are perfect for magnetic-resonance power-transfer applications, which execute nicely at the higher frequencies of the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) standard.

There are two other applications which could possibly utilize SiC power modules. These are traction and wind turbines. Their high cost, unverified reliableness, and a shortage of availableness of high-current-rated modules are the biggest obstacles to adoption in both instances, in general, and of full SiC modules particularly. Both applications typically need 1700V modules, a voltage at which small numbers of SiC transistors have already been developed. Samples are on their way of production, but profit-oriented manufacture is not prospective to begin until 2016 or 2017.

For high-powered SiC technologies, there are numerous newly developed medical applications and other possible industrial applications. For low-voltage GaN devices, the latest applications comprise numerous rising technologies those are awaited to drive important development in the future, such as light detection, wireless envelope tracking, and ranging (LIDAR), medical devices and  Class-B audio amplifiers.

You can buy power transistor modules from Young & New Century LLC, Houston, TX. Our website http://www.uscomponent.com/ is very user friendly and you may send your request for quote (RFQ) and we will quote within 24 hours or less.

Demonstration of Wafer-Scale Graphene Integrated Circuit Smaller Than a Pinhead For Wireless Devices

It is alleged by the scientists of IBM research that they have reached a milestone in forming a building block for the subsequent wireless devices. In a paper disclosed in the journal Science, IBM researchist made public the maiden integrated circuit built from wafer-size graphene, and revealed a broadband frequency mixer functioning at frequencies up to 10 gigahertz (10 billion cycles per second).

Aimed at wireless communications, this analog integrated circuit based on graphene would make better recent wireless devices and beckons to the possibility for a new set of applications. Among the conventional frequencies of present, transceiver and cell phone signals could be advanced, possibly allowing phones to function where they can't today while, at much higher frequencies, military and medical personnel could see covert weapons or operate medical imaging without the similar radiation riskiness of X-rays.

Graphene is the narrowest electronic material which is composed of a single layer of carbon atoms packed in a honeycomb formation, possesses exceptional electrical, mechanical, optical and thermal characteristics that could make it not so much costly and use less power in mobile electronics like smart phones.

In spite of noteworthy scientific advancement in the comprehension of this unprecedented material and the demonstration of high-performance graphene-based devices, the difficulty of combining graphene transistors with other components on an individual chip had not been cognized up to now, majorly because of the deficient adherence of graphene with metals and oxides and the need of dependable fabrication schemes to generate formative circuits and devices.

This latest integrated circuit is composed of a graphene transistor and a set of two inductors compactly built-in on a silicon carbide (SiC) wafer, surpasses these design obstacles by advancing wafer-scale fabrication methods that keep up the standard of graphene and, at the same time, make allowance for its consolidation to other elements in an intricate circuitry.

In this presentation, thermal annealing of SiC wafers synthesized graphene to comprise stable graphene layers on the surface of SiC. Four layers of metal and two layers of oxide are needed by the fabrication of graphene circuits to make top-gated graphene transistor, interconnects and on-chip inductors.

The circuit functions as a broadband frequency mixer, which generates output signals with varied frequencies (aggregate and difference) of the input signals. Mixers are considered as basic elements of various electronic communication systems. This graphene integrated circuit has been presented as capable of frequency mixing up to 10 GHz and fantastic thermal stability up to 125°C

The fabrication scheme demonstrated can also be used in other types of graphene materials, including chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene films synthesized on metal films, and are also suitable for optical lithography for minimized cost and throughput. In the past, the team has demonstrated stand-alone graphene transistors with a cut-off frequency as high as 100 GHz and 155 GHz for epitaxial and CVD graphene, for a gate length of 240 and 40 nm, respectively.

http://www.uscomponent.com/, the official website of Young & New Century LLC has been retailing IGBT power transistor modules since 2001. We just sell new and original electronic parts and we provide 90 days warranty with each part.

FPGA Comparison

Formerly, FPGAs (Field-programmable Gate Array) lagged behind than their rigid ASIC (Application-specific integrated circuit) peers in terms of operational speed, energy efficiency and overall functionality. It was demonstrated by an older research that designs executed on FPGAs require on an average 40 times as much area, pull 12 times as much dynamic power, and achieve one third the speed of resembling ASIC executions. In the modern days, FPGAs like Virtex-7 from Xilinx or Stratix 5 from Altera have taken place to contend with resembling ASIC and ASSP solutions by providing notably minimized power, extended speed, and decreased cost of materials, least execution real-estate and expanded likelihood for re-configuration 'on-the-fly'. A design can now be attained using just one FPGA where 6-10 ASIC may have been used in the same design in the past.

Conveniences of FPGAs comprise the facility to reprogram in the area to fix bugs, and can comprise a briefer time for marketing and lesser non-recurring engineering expenses. A moderate road can be taken by the vendors by developing their hardware on common FPGAs, but manufacture their ultimate version as an ASIC. As a result of this, it cannot be modified any longer after the design has been implemented.