IGBT with Mass Transit

The IGBT has a major impact on the transportation sector in all over the world. It enabled the introduction of cost-effective and reliable electronic ignition systems that have improved gasoline fuel efficiency by at least 10 percent. They have also been critical elements in the improvement of mass transit systems and the deployment of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Modern mass transit systems rely upon electric trains where the propulsion is derived from supplying AC power to motors. High-speed rail, such as the European TGV and the Japanese Shinkansen bullet trains allows travel by large numbers of people while avoiding fossil fuel consumption experienced with gasoline-powered automobiles and aircraft. Until the 1990s, the silicon GTO was the only available power semiconductor switching device with the power handling capability suitable for this application. In the 1990s, the ratings of IGBTs had sufficiently advanced, to exceed one MegaWatt allowing penetration of the IGBT into this traction market.

The availability of the IGBT allowed significant improvements in the motor drive technology due to the elimination of snubber circuits and an increase in the operating frequency of the inverter circuit used to deliver power to the motors. Mass transit systems within cities must rely upon busses, trams, and underground trains. Many cities have been replacing gasoline-powered busses with electric busses and trams to reduce urban pollution. All of these below requirements were met by using the IGBT-based motor drive in the control system for the electric transit bus: (a) wide range of speed including high operating speed; (b) large startup torque for good acceleration; (c) high efficiency; and (d) regenerative braking to increase utilization of batteries. In Europe and Japan, electric tram transit systems have been modernized by using IGBT-based motor drives. According to AEG-Westinghouse Transport Systeme, Germany, the low floor concept is becoming a standard customer prerequisite. This has been enabled by today’s IGBT modules.

Comparison between IGBT and 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 the 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 cleaners, 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.

IGBT in Washing Machine Agitator

Electric automatic washing machines are now common in homes for the cleaning of the daily household laundry. Washing machines were developed to eliminate the drudgery of scrubbing and rubbing to remove dirt from clothes. Electric washing machines were advertised and discussed in newspapers as early as 1904. The first automatic washing machine was introduced by Bendix in 1937. Sixty percent of the 25 Million wired homes in the United States had an electric washing machine by 1940. The annual sales for washing machines have grown to more than 58 million units worldwide by 2003. Many of these units are front loaders. Early automatic washing machines utilized mechanical means for making any changes in impeller/drum speed. Since the 1970s, electronic control of motor speed has become a common feature of most washing machines. 

Modern automatic washing machines provide many sophisticated features to handle the safe cleaning of a wide range of fabrics with a variety of soil removal requirements. The soil removal in an automatic electric washing machine is performed by a process of agitation of the clothes. The agitator is controlled using IGBT-based motor control modules. The direction of rotation of the motor and its speed can be regulated by using the power delivered via the IGBTs. Inverter control with IGBTs reduces wash/spin noise and vibration and enables adjustment of the amount of water and motor torque to suit the washing load.

IGBT in MRI Machines

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important diagnostic tool commonly used in hospitals to determine the nature of injuries and the status of organs in patients. Unlike CT scans, no radiation occurs when using an MRI procedure. In an MRI machine, a powerful magnetic field is used to align the magnetization of some atoms in the body, and radiofrequency fields are used to systematically alter the alignment of this magnetization. The nuclei in selected atoms produce a rotating magnetic field detectable by the scanner which is used to construct an image of the scanned area of the body. MRI is especially useful in imaging the brain, muscles, heart, and cancers compared with other medical imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT) or X-rays. It can detect aneurysms, damage to the heart or blood vessels, torn ligaments, and to find tumors.

Commencing medical diagnostic equipment has revolutionized the quality of care for mankind. Non-invasive imaging of the interior of the body enables the surgeon to perform operations while minimizing damage to adjacent tissue and organs. The IGBT has been used since the early deployment of MRI scanners for the control of the gantry on which the patient is reclining as described below. In addition, hundreds of thousands of lives are being saved due to the availability of portable defibrillators which require IGBTs for delivering the controlled shock to the patient of cardiac arrest.

MERCADO DE LOS IGBT EN TIEMPOS DE COVID-19

Actualmente y debido a las duras condiciones, los principales fabricantes y distribuidores del mercado han comenzado a cambiar sus estrategias comerciales para mantener su posición en la plataforma . El estudio de investigación sobre el mercado global de controladores de puerta MOSFET e IGBT aborda el estado actualizado de la situacion desde el punto de vista de comercializacion y fabricacion, asi como tambien los nuevos lanzamientos. Algunos de los mas relevantes que operan en el mercado de incluyen Infineon Technologies, ON Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics, ROHM Semiconductor, NXP Semiconductors, Texas Instruments, Microchip, Power Integrations, Inc., Vishay, Broadcom, Analog Devices, IXYS, Toshiba, Renesas, Powerex, entre eotras. El dossier incluye un perfil detallado de todos los fabrficantes en la industria. Los analistas han realizado investigaciones primarias y han incluido todos los desarrollos recientes que las organizaciones de esta indole están tratando de resolver en esta situación de COVID-19.

Los mercados mundiales han experimentado un gran cambio en los últimos meses. Estos cambios se debieron al brote de la pandemia que se detectó por primera vez en la ciudad china de Wuhan. COVID- 19, que se produjo debido al coronavirus, ha cobrado muchas vidas de personas en todo el mundo. A medida que la enfermedad se propaga a un ritmo acelerado, muchos países han ordenado el cierre puntual para mantener el distanciamiento social. Debido al bloqueo, muchas de las industrias han detenido sus unidades de fabricación. Ha habido restricciones para el comercio transfronterizo dentro de las ciudades y también dentro de los estados. Debido a estas condiciones comerciales en varias regiones se han visto gravemente afectadas. En general, todos los países enfrentan una crisis económica que afecta a algunos de los principales mercados del mundo. 

Se utilizaron diversas metodologías y herramientas de investigación para obtener estadisticas confiables del desarrollo economico y tecnologico del MOSFET & IGBT Gate Drivers. El informe de mercado MOSFET & IGBT Gate Drivers incluye los datos históricos de 2016-2019 y las previsiones de 2020-2026. Se tomó una consideración especial para los años 2019 y 2020 ya que en estos dos años el entorno experimentó cambios importantes en la plataforma global. 

El target de controladores de compuerta MOSFET e IGBT se segrega en los siguientes segmentos {Controladores de compuerta de un solo canal, Controladores de compuerta de medio puente, Controladores de compuerta de puente completo, Controladores de compuerta trifásica, Otros}; {Electrodomésticos, automoción, pantallas e iluminación, fuente de alimentación, otros}. Algunos de los principales segmentos también fueron subsegmentados para un mejor análisis de mercado. La información numérica para todos los segmentos se investigó y se obtuvo a través de una investigación primaria y secundaria exhaustiva y se aclararon los datos con la ayuda de los expertos del mercado. La presencia regional del mercado MOSFET & IGBT Gate Drivers también se incluye en el informe de mercado MOSFET & IGBT Gate Drivers.