Infineon has designed the TRENCHSTOP™ IGBT7 for variable-speed drives to facilitate the switch from fossil fuel power to greener electric power. A significant increase in power density can be obtained due to lower static losses, higher power density, and softer switching by raising the allowed maximum chip operation temperature to +175°C.
Every switch needs a driver, and the right driver makes a difference. Together with the TRENCHSTOP IGBT7, Infineon also offers the EiceDRIVER™ gate driver ICs including low side drivers, level-shift drivers, and isolated drivers. The EiceDRIVER family offers a wide range of output current options (from 0.1 A to 14 A) and different protection features like DESAT, Miller clamp, OCP, shutdown, integrated bootstrap diode, and isolation.
Features
Overload capability:
- The TRENCHSTOP IGBT7 allows operation at a temperature of TVJOP=+175°C under overload conditions. This matches the typical requirement in the drive applications where high current and temperature are only required short-term
Lower on-state voltage:
- Compared to IGBT4, TRENCHSTOP IGBT7 lowers on-state voltage by around 20%. This brings a significant reduction in losses to target applications, especially to industrial drives, which usually operate with moderate switching frequencies, is key for higher power density and lifetime
Enhanced controllability:
- The TRENCHSTOP IGBT7 offers a high level of controllability to match the motor insulation requirements or EMI limitations, which are in place to prevent any arcing that could eventually cause damage to coil insulation. The controllability corresponds to the device’s ability to vary the dV/dt by adjusting the value of the gate resistor (RG), allowing for a facilitated design-in phase.
Improved diode:
- The EC7 emitter-controlled diode reduces the forward voltage by 100 mV relative to the previous generation EC4. This also lowers the reverse recovery losses and improves softness, which benefits the inverter’s EMI behavior.
Increased power:
- The best-in-class EconoDUAL™ 3 module provides a 50% higher output current for the same frame-size compared to the former IGBT generation. The higher power density helps to avoid paralleling of IGBT modules, leading to simplification of the inverter design and lower costs
Framesize jump:
- Easy 1B and 2B are pin-to-pin compatible with the previous IGBT4 generation, allowing for a plug-and-play replacement. When exchanging the TRENCHSTOP IGBT4 with the IGBT7 solution, the output current is 30% higher for the same housing and the same system cooling. The latter could be reduced by 40% for the same output current or the third option would be to achieve a framesize jump by using a smaller housing in combination with 11% more output power
Low losses:
- The conduction losses at the given dV/dt limitation are significantly decreased. Moreover, there is a reduction in diode losses which leads to overall 15% lower power losses
Optimized driving:
- CGE and CGC are balanced to give the IGBT7 full control over the d/dt, and to optimize the switching waveform. CGE is designed to avoid parasitic turn-on effects, zero voltage supply for turn-off is feasible (unipolar gate driver power supply)