Steering Through The Confusion: A Guide To IGBT Technologies, Terminology, and Operation

Focus:

For those who are new to motor drive design, considering IGBTs for use in other applications, or possibly confused by the different IGBT buzz words, this brief tour of the available technologies may offer reasonable guidance. This information can be helpful when selecting IGBTs for a new design, as much of what you need to know about different IGBT device types will not be spelled out on data sheets. And device selection guides are not equipped to ask and answer some questions that relate to IGBT process technology. Understanding the differences among the different IGBT technologies may also come in handy if you’re ever tasked with finding modern replacements for IGBTs used in an older product design. Technologies discussed here include punch-through planar, non-punch-through planar, field-stop trench, and punch-through trench.) Using MOSFET structures as a starting point, the author begins describing the various IGBT device types and how differences in their structures produce different electrical characteristics and differences in device operation.

What you’ll learn:

• How to understand the distinctions between various IGBT device types and how their different structures produce different electrical characteristics

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Author & Publication:

Paul L. Schimel, International Rectifier (IR) , El Segundo, Calif., How2Power Today, Jul 15 2013

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