IGB

T
30,23/01/2021
 What is an IGBT?
IGBT stands for insulated-gate bipolar transistor.
It is a bipolar transistor with an insulated gate
terminal.
The IGBT combines, in a single device, a control
input with a MOS structure and a bipolar power
transistor that acts as an output switch.
IGBTs are suitable for high-voltage, high-current
applications.
They are designed to drive high-power applications
with a low-power input.
Equivalent circuit
 How it is made?
The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor also called
an IGBT for short, is something of a cross
between a conventional Bipolar Junction
Transistor, (BJT) and a Field Effect Transistor,
(MOSFET) making it ideal as a semiconductor
switching device.
The IGBT Transistor takes the best parts of these
two types of common transistors, the high input
impedance and high switching speeds of a
MOSFET with the low saturation voltage of a
bipolar transistor, and combines them together
to produce another type of transistor switching
device that is capable of handling large
collector-emitter currents with virtually zero
gate current drive.
The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor, (IGBT)
combines the insulated gate (hence the first part
of its name) technology of the MOSFET with the
output performance characteristics of a
conventional bipolar transistor, (hence the
second part of its name).

The result of this hybrid combination is that the

“IGBT Transistor” has the output switching and
conduction characteristics of a bipolar transistor
but is voltage-controlled like a MOSFET.
IGBTs are mainly used in power electronics applications,
such as
• Inverters
• converters
• and power supplies
were the demands of the solid state switching device are
not fully met by power bipolars and power MOSFETs.
High-current and high-voltage bipolars are available,
but their switching speeds are slow, while power
MOSFETs may have higher switching speeds, but high-
voltage and high-current devices are expensive and
hard to achieve.
The advantage gained by the insulated gate
bipolar transistor device over a BJT or MOSFET is
that it offers greater power gain than the
standard bipolar type transistor combined with
the higher voltage operation and lower input
losses of the MOSFET.
In effect it is an FET integrated with a bipolar
transistor in a form of Darlington type
configuration as shown.
We can see that the insulated gate bipolar
transistor is a three terminal, transconductance
device that combines an insulated gate N-channel
MOSFET input with a PNP bipolar transistor output
connected in a type of Darlington configuration.

As a result the terminals are labelled as: Collector,

Emitter and Gate. Two of its terminals (C-E) are
associated with the conductance path which passes
current, while its third terminal (G) controls the
device.
The amount of amplification achieved by the insulated
gate bipolar transistor is a ratio between its output signal
and its input signal.
For a conventional bipolar junction transistor, (BJT) the
amount of gain is approximately equal to the ratio of the
output current to the input current, called Beta.

For a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor or

MOSFET, there is no input current as the gate is isolated
from the main current carrying channel.
Therefore, an FET’s gain is equal to the ratio of output
current change to input voltage change, making it a
transconductance device and this is also true of the IGBT.
Then we can treat the IGBT as a power BJT whose base
current is provided by a MOSFET.
The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor can be used in small
signal amplifier circuits in much the same way as the BJT
or MOSFET type transistors.
But as the IGBT combines the low conduction loss of a BJT
with the high switching speed of a power MOSFET an
optimal solid state switch exists which is ideal for use in
power electronics applications.

Also, the IGBT has a much lower “on-state” resistance,

RON than an equivalent MOSFET. This means that the I2R
drop across the bipolar output structure for a given
switching current is much lower.
The forward blocking operation of the IGBT transistor is
identical to a power MOSFET.
When used as static controlled switch, the
insulated gate bipolar transistor has voltage and
current ratings similar to that of the bipolar
transistor.
However, the presence of an isolated gate in an
IGBT makes it a lot simpler to drive than the BJT
as much less drive power is needed.
 Activating and deactivating IGBT
An insulated gate bipolar transistor is simply
turned “ON” or “OFF” by activating and
deactivating its Gate terminal.
Applying a positive input voltage signal across
the Gate and the Emitter will keep the device in
its “ON” state, while making the input gate
signal zero or slightly negative will cause it to
turn “OFF” in much the same way as a bipolar
transistor or eMOSFET. Another advantage of
the IGBT is that it has a much lower on-state
channel resistance than a standard MOSFET.
IGBT Characteristics
The IGBT is a voltage-controlled device, it only
requires a small voltage on the Gate to maintain
conduction through the device unlike BJT’s which
require that the Base current is continuously
supplied in a sufficient enough quantity to maintain
saturation.

Also the IGBT is a unidirectional device, meaning it

can only switch current in the “forward direction”,
that is from Collector to Emitter unlike MOSFET’s
which have bi-directional current switching
capabilities (controlled in the forward direction
and
uncontrolled in the reverse direction).
 Advantage
s of using the Insulated Gate
The main advantages
Bipolar Transistor over other types of transistor
devices are its
• high voltage capability
• low ON-resistance,
• ease of drive
• relatively fast switching speeds
• and combined with zero gate drive current
 Applications
Makes it a good choice for moderate speed, high
voltage applications such as in
• pulse-width modulated (PWM)
• variable speed control
• switch-mode power supplies or solar powered
DC-AC inverter
• and frequency converter
• applications operating in the hundreds of
kilohertz range.
 A general comparison between BJT’s, MOSFET’s and
IGBT’s is given in the following table.
Device Power Power
Characteristic Bipolar MOSFET IGBT

Voltage Rating High <1kV High <1kV Very High >1kV

Current Rating High <500A Low <200A High >500A

hFE is an
abbreviation
Current, hFE Voltage, VGS Voltage, VGE
, and it Input Drive
20-200 3-10V 4-8V
stands for
"Hybrid Input
parameter Impedance Low High High
forward
current gain Output
Impedance Low Medium Low

Switching
Speed Slow (uS) Fast (nS) Medium

Cost Low Medium High

We have seen that the Insulated Gate Bipolar
Transistor is semiconductor switching device that
has the output characteristics of a bipolar junction
transistor, BJT, but is controlled like a metal oxide
field effect transistor, MOSFET.

One of the main advantages of the IGBT transistor is

the simplicity by which it can be driven “ON” by
applying a positive gate voltage, or switched “OFF”
by making the gate signal zero or slightly negative
allowing it to be used in a variety of switching
applications. It can also be driven in its linear active
region for use in power amplifiers.
What is an IGBT module and array?
IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) module and array is a
device required for inverter use in many types of industrial
equipment, and had driven the trend towards high currents and
high voltage.
Example for IGBT array

IGBT Array & Module

Transistor, N Channel, 300 A,
1.2 kV, 1.13 kW, 1.2 kV,
Module
 Applications
• Speed control of DC motor using IGBT
DC Motor speed control is carried out by use of
Four Quadrant Chopper drive.
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors are used for
speed control of the motor and the IGBT
triggering is carried out by use of PWM
converters under various loading conditions and
by varying armature voltage and field voltage.
DC motor controlling
 DC motor controlling
Can achieve
• Forward
• Reverse
• Brake
• Accelerate
• Decelerate
• Constant speed
 DC chopper

Explain with 4 quadrant plane

Block diagram-chopper
 High Frequency Power Supplies

CLR and CLCR as Current Limiters in AC power systems

Electrostatic precipitators (ESP) collect dust in the flue gas produced
by boiler, etc.
A single phase or three phase AC main power source is
fed into a rectifier and filter combination to create a
relatively smooth DC power source.
A three phase set-up is shown in above Figure. The use of
an alternate single-phase feed requires additional
components for filtering, yet is still viable within existing
cabinets.
This DC source is then fed into an integrated gate bipolar
transistor (IGBT) full wave bridge circuit where it is
converted into a high frequency AC waveform.
The use of sub kilohertz frequencies permits the use of
the existing transformer with the existing internal
rectifiers and feedback signals. The value of the existing
CLR for the conversion must be reviewed for possible
modification. Typically lower CLR values are needed.
• Read the article if need more information
• https://redkoh.com/article_46_Redkoh-
Industries-Switch-Mode-Power-Supply-For-
Electrostatic-Precipitators.cfm
Switched Mode power supplies

Switched Mode Block Diagram

The buck converter-SMPS
Buck converter operation
 Boost converter

Note: Here IGBT can be used as MOSFET in high power application

Boost converter operation
Buck-Boost converter
Operation as a Buck Converter During
Tr1 ‘on’ Period
Operation as a Buck Converter During
Tr1 ‘off’ Period
Operation as a Boost Converter During
Tr2 ‘on’ Period
Operation as a Boost Converter During
Tr2 ‘off’ Period
 For more information
• Reference:https://learnabout-
electronics.org/PSU/psu33.php
DC-to-AC converters and UPSs

With the load

Explain circuit
working
principal
Similar to cd
motor h-bridge
operation
Square wave
and sine wave
the objective of the power circuit is to generate a
line-frequency sinewave, as is the case in DC-to-AC
converters and UPSs, a PWM control of the power
switches shrinks the output filter and improves
power density.
Creating a sine signal
Figure :Circuit Diagram of a Single-Phase Sine Wave Inverter
 Improved circuit

Input has the capacitor to filter voltage and output have inductor s and
capacitor to filter current and voltage of output
The three-phase bridge-inverter(Dc-
AC converters(solar))

(Figure inverter)
This topology (Figure inverter) is used almost
exclusively to drive three-phase motors with
different modulation strategies.
The two most common types of motors are
permanent-magnet and induction motors.

They require different modulation strategies. In

fact, the same type of motor could be driven with
different modulations:
some modulations enhance motor performance at
the expenses of semiconductor losses, others do
the opposite.
 For more information
• References:
http://www.irf.com/electronics/topology-
fundamentals
VFD- IGBT
Welding Machines-IGBT

Here transformer is a step down transformer

 Welding machine -simple
• https://www
.youtube.com/watch?v=C5Bhqp4
AFr0&pbjreload=101