New Industry Products

STMicroelectronics Debuts K Family of IGBTs

July 11, 2002 by Jeff Shepard

STMicroelectronics Inc. (STM, Geneva, Switzerland) introduced a family of IGBTs optimized for use in motor-control equipment and high-frequency inverters where short-circuit protection is necessary. The parts are based on high-voltage PowerMESH technology, which uses a patented strip layout.

The K family of IGBTs offer a short-circuit withstand-time of 10ms. The devices trade off speed and voltage drop to meet the needs of modern control systems whose operating frequency is higher than in the past, but which also need high efficiency to cut acoustic and energy pollution for industrial and home appliances.

The tradeoff between voltage drop, switching speed and overall power losses has been optimized for a range of frequencies between 5kHz and 25kHz. The use of tailored high-speed, low and soft, reverse-recovery charge, freewheeling diodes helps reduce EMI and current spikes.

In 50,000-unit quantities, prices range from $0.40 for the STGD3NB60K to $1.95 for the STGW20NB60KD.