Power semiconductor devices are also known as power electronic devices or power devices, it is a special switch with power management capabilities including frequency conversion, variable voltage, variable current, power management, etc. It has a wide range of applications in consumer electronics, new energy, electric vehicles, industrial manufacturing and other fields. Since 2022, the global IGBT devices are in short supply, and the market size of China's IGBT industry is expected to reach 29.08 billion yuan in 2023.

• What is IGBT Power Semiconductor?

The industry generally divides power semiconductor devices into three categories:

Diode: The switching state is controlled by the main circuit (power circuit) itself, so it is also called a passive switch and an uncontrollable switch.

Thyristor: can be turned on by a low-power control signal, but can only be turned off by the main circuit (power circuit) itself and cannot be turned off by the control signal, so it is also called a semi-controllable switch.

Controllable switch: Semiconductor controllable switch including GTO, IGCT, GTR, IGBT, VMOS and other power devices, IGBT module is favored by various industries, and even selected China's major science and technology special key support projects. It has the advantages of both MOSFET(insulated gate type field effect tube) and BJT(bipolar triode) two types of devices, fast switching speed, high input impedance, small control power, simple drive circuit, small switching loss, low conduction, large on-state current, small loss, high voltage, high current, high speed and other aspects of the same advantages.

• What are the main application areas of IGBT power semiconductors?

IGBT module can be divided into low voltage (600V below), medium voltage (600V-1200V) and high voltage (1200V-6700V), IGBT is mainly used for inverter inverter and other inverter circuits. Inverter the DC voltage into alternating current with adjustable frequency. It has a cathode, an anode, and a control pole. The impedance is very large when it is turned off, and there is a small resistance when it is turned on. The switch between the cathode and anode is controlled by turning on or off the control pole. Its main application areas are as follows: New energy vehicles In new energy vehicles, IGBT module is the core technical components of electric vehicles and charging piles and other equipment. IGBT modules account for nearly 5% of the cost of electric vehicles and about 20% of the cost of charging piles.

IGBT is mainly used in the field of electric vehicles in the following aspects:

1, the electric control system high-power DC/AC (DC/AC) inverter drives the car motor.

2, car air conditioning control system low-power DC/AC (DC/AC) inverter, the use of smaller current IGBT and FRD.

3, charging pile Intelligent charging pile IGBT module is used as a switching element.

rail traffic

IGBT devices have become the mainstream power electronic devices for traction converters and various auxiliary converters of rail transit vehicles. Ac transmission technology is one of the core technologies of modern rail transit. Traction converter is the key component in AC transmission system, and IGBT is one of the most core components of traction converter

Power grid and household appliances

The power grid system is developing in the direction of intelligence, the power generation end of the smart grid, the transmission end, the power transformation end and the power end are closely linked with the IGBT, and the rectifier and inverter in wind power generation and photovoltaic power generation need to use the IGBT module. FACTS flexible transmission technology in UHVDC requires a large number of power devices such as IGBTs, and IGBTs are the key devices of power electronic transformers (PET). In home appliances, the demand for IGBT, such as microwave ovens and LED lighting drivers, continues to increase.

Photovoltaic industry

IGBT is the core device of photovoltaic inverter and energy storage inverter. IGBT modules account for 15% to 20% of the value of photovoltaic inverters, and different photovoltaic power stations need slightly different IGBT products, such as centralized photovoltaic mainly uses IGBT modules, while segmented photovoltaic mainly uses IGBT single tubes or modules.

There are many main reasons for the shortage of IGBT in China.

Demand: China's new energy and electric vehicle industries continue to grow, further driving the demand for IGBT; At the manufacturing end, the main manufacturers of IGBT are Infineon, ON, ST, Fuji Electric, Mitsubishi Electric and other overseas semiconductor manufacturers, the domestic IGBT industry chain and production capacity can not be self-sufficient, in addition to the epidemic, the international environment, raw material prices and other factors, IGBT supply instability phenomenon is more and more obvious.

For a long time, the high-end IGBT mainstream device market has been monopolized by European and American enterprises, and there is still a long way to go to achieve domestic replacement of imports, IGBT wants to achieve localization, and more manufacturers need to increase investment in research and development and manufacturing, and improve the production capacity and quality of IGBT devices.

The above is a brief introduction to IGBT devices, IGBT power devices need to carry out strict testing to ensure its quality, in the IGBT module test process, not only need advanced test equipment, but also need professional technicians to design a reasonable test program according to the requirements.

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