The term power electronics encompasses a wide range of applications, from small power converters used in personal computers to large scale electric power generation/transmission systems. Because power electronics is essential to these functions, having robust and reliable power electronics circuits is extremely important. In addition, the need for more efficient circuits with smaller form factors continues to increase as concerns over CO2 emissions drive the ongoing shift to alternative energy sources.
All power electronics applications require some sort of power conversion system. For this reason, all over the world companies are continuously working on improving the performance, efficiency, and reliability of these systems. Power conversion systems are also being used in new applications as they replace conventional systems. For instance, internal combustion engines are gradually being replaced by hybrid and electric alternatives to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Hydraulic actuators in airplanes are being replaced with electric motor based actuators to improve aircraft safety and reliability.
Many modern vehicles employ hybrid powertrains to improve fuel efficiency. Hybrid systems typically have one inverter circuit for DC-DC converter electrical motor control and one for the regenerative circuit that converts kinetic energy (e.g. from braking, coasting, etc.) into electrical energy stored in the system’s battery. Both of these inverter circuits use many IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors), diodes, capacitors, resistors and inductors, and these components need to be able to handle very large voltages and currents. For instance, the most popular hybrid automobile today uses voltages of up to 650 V and currents of more than 200 A. Component reliability under a wide range of operating conditions (from freezing cold to hot and humid conditions) is also extremely important, since any failure could cause serious injury to the car’s driver or passengers.
Component weight is another factor that affects energy efficiency because the inductors and capacitors used in the powertrain are in general large and heavy. Since higher operating frequencies allow smaller components to be used, wide band gap (WBG) devices such as SiCMOSFETs and GaN FETs (which can operate at higher frequencies than silicon devices) are gradually replacing IGBTs in switching circuits. Of course, the power devices and components used in the circuit are critical parts that cannot fail under any situation.
We present to you, “Top 10 Power Electronics Solutions Providers - 2022”.
