New Industry Products

8th-Generation IGBTs that Improve System Power Efficiency

April 17, 2016 by Renesas

This article discusses Renesas Electronics' availability of six new products in the 8th-generation G8H Series of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) lineup

Renesas Electronics the availability of six new products in the 8th-generation G8H Series of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) lineup that minimize conversion losses in power conditioners for solar power generation systems and reduce inverter applications in uninterruptable power supply (UPS) systems. Six new product versions, rated at 650 V/40 A, 50 A, and 75 A, and at 1,250 V/25 A, 40 A, and 75 A, are being released. Renesas has also achieved the industry’s first TO-247 plus package for a 1,250V IGBT with built-in diode, which offers system manufacturers greater circuit configuration flexibility.

Drawing on its expertise in designing low-loss IGBTs in the power converter field, Renesas Electronics optimized the 8th-generation IGBTs, adopting an exclusive trench gate configuration (Note 1) in the process structure. Compared to previous IGBT generations, these devices provide faster switching performance, an essential feature to the IGBT performance index, while also reducing conduction loss by lowering the saturation voltage (Vce (sat), Note 2). Additionally, the performance index (Note 3) for the 8th-generation devices has been improved by up to 30 percent compared to previous 7th-generation IGBTs, contributing to lower power loss and better overall performance for user systems. These updates are essential for key markets in the power industry focusing on photovoltaic (PV) inverters, UPS, industrial motor drives and power factor correction (PFC).

In solar power generation systems, there is inevitably some amount of power loss when the direct current (DC) generated from sunlight by solar panels converts to alternating current (AC) by passing through an inverter circuit. Since the majority of this power loss occurs within the power devices used, reducing IGBT power loss has a direct positive effect on the power generation performance of user systems. Similarly, for UPS systems in server rooms and data centers, power must constantly pass through a power converter circuit to monitor if the power supply has been interrupted, meaning that a steady power loss arises whenever the system is operating. IGBT performance is key to reducing this power loss.

 

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