Robust 650V IGBTs reduce EV & HEV power losses

The IGBTs have a blocking voltage 50V higher than previous automotive IGBTs and achieve their ‘best-in-class’ efficiency ratings due to Infineon’s TRENCHSTOP 5 thin wafer technology. Compared with existing ‘state-of-the-art’ technologies, this technology reduces saturation voltage by 200mV, halves switching losses and lowers gate charge by a factor of 2.5. Improved switching and conduction losses also support lower junction and case temperatures than alternative technologies, leading to enhanced device reliability and minimising the need for cooling.

By using TRENCHSTOP 5 AUTO IGBTs, EV designers will realise efficiency gains that enable extended cruising ranges or smaller battery sizes. In the case of HEVs, the efficiency improvements can be used to reduce overall fuel consumption and drive down CO2 emissions.

The IGBTs are available as single discrete IGBT device or co-packaged with an Infineon ultra-fast 'Rapid' silicon diode. In each case the two variants H5 HighSpeed and F5 HighSpeed FAST can be supplied depending on whether optimised switching speed or highest possible efficiency is the overriding design criteria.

For a typical PFC used in on-board chargers, replacing current ‘state-of-the-art’ technologies with TRENCHSTOP 5 AUTO IGBTs has been shown to deliver an efficiency increase from 97.5 to 97.9%. In the case of a 3.3kW charger this equates to a power loss reduction of 13W. Assuming a charging time of five hours, this would be equivalent to reducing CO2 emissions by 30g in a single charging cycle.

The 650V TRENCHSTOP 5 AUTO IGBTs are supplied in TO-247 packages. Engineering samples are available now, with volume production scheduled for March 2015.