IR Pan Dawei: Make good use of power devices to safeguard energy-saving design

In the foreseeable future, electricity will become our main energy consumption. From high-speed trains to mobile phones, they cannot exist without electricity. Regardless of the type of electricity, most of it is difficult to use directly, and power semiconductors must be used for power conversion to drive the equipment. In recent years, the pursuit of low energy consumption has intensified in the whole society. Products such as variable frequency air conditioners and variable frequency refrigerators have emerged in an endless stream. The ultimate goal is to minimize power loss. To achieve the variable frequency function, power devices also need to play their magical role. How can a more efficient energy-saving design be achieved? How do power devices achieve energy saving? With all kinds of questions, the editor of Electronics Fan Network interviewed Mr. Pan Dawei, Vice President of Sales for the Asia Pacific Region of IR, a well-known power supply manufacturer.

　　The problem of motor energy-saving design needs to be solved urgently

　　As society continues to advance, people's living standards have also improved, and refrigerators, air conditioners and other automated products have begun to enter thousands of households. The amount of electricity consumed by these products in a year is a huge number, and running these devices at full load does not meet the current requirements of energy conservation and emission reduction. Therefore, variable frequency motors have emerged and quickly caught the public's attention. We know that the design of electronic units is very complex and involves three aspects: digital, analog and power meters. At the same time, designers must also meet the needs of mass promotion of high-performance products at a lower cost, which places higher requirements on the design platform. How do IR-related energy-saving solutions help efficient energy-saving design?

Mr. David Pan, Vice President of Sales, Asia Pacific Region, IR

　　Pan Dawei said that IR provides iMOTION™ integrated design platform, which integrates the required digital, analog and power chips, as well as control algorithms, development software and design tools, which can help engineers complete the motor control design including literacy control IC and µIPM™ power module, so as to build the whole system. Pan stressed that this platform not only simplifies the development of industrial applications and household appliances using variable speed motors, but also reduces product energy consumption by 60%.

　　When talking about specific design applications, Pan Dawei also gave us an example: IR's highly integrated small µIPM™ power module series (patent pending) is aimed at high-efficiency appliances and light industrial applications. This module can be used to implement refrigerator compressor drivers, water pumps for heating and water circulation, air conditioning fans, dishwashers and automation systems. Because the entire product uses an innovative package, the µIPM series is able to provide a new device size benchmark, thereby reducing the footprint by as much as 60% based on the existing three-phase motor control power IC. In addition, application examples and reference designs for various motor control applications with a power of up to 1800W are also provided online.

　　IGBT and other power devices - making good use of energy-saving tools

　　Since its introduction, IGBT has been welcomed by users due to its advantages such as high switching speed, low switching loss, ability to withstand pulse current impact, low on-state voltage drop, high input impedance, voltage drive, and low drive power. Especially in industrial applications such as motor drives, IGBT has become the preferred power semiconductor device.

　　Pan Dawei particularly emphasized that the reduction of power loss and the increase of current density are the advantages of IGBT, and have also become the main goals of advanced IGBT development. By adopting such power devices, not only can the system efficiency and power handling capacity be improved, but also cost advantages can be obtained. For example, the number of waste heat removal systems (heat sinks) can be reduced.

　　Regarding the progress of IGBT technology, Pan Dawei also introduced us to a platform of IR, which is IR's latest Gen8 IGBT platform, which provides excellent technology for industrial applications. This IGBT platform also has the best Vce (on), stability and switching characteristics in its class, and is specifically designed to solve the harsh challenges of the industrial market. The eighth generation (Gen8) 1200V IGBT platform uses IR's latest generation of trench gate field stop technology, providing best-in-class performance for industrial and energy-saving applications.

　　Pan Dawei also mentioned that the Gen8 IGBT achieves excellent stability. The new technology has a softer turn-off characteristic, which is ideal for motor drive applications and can minimize dv/dt, thereby reducing EMI and overvoltage, and improving reliability and stability. The narrow parameter distribution range enables excellent current sharing when multiple IGBTs are connected in parallel in high-current power modules. Thin wafer technology improves thermal resistance and provides a maximum junction temperature of up to 175°C.

　　New power devices safeguard energy-saving design

　　Finally, Pan Dawei introduced IR's latest power MOSFET chip 300V device series, which provides benchmark on-state resistance (Rds(on)) for a variety of high-efficiency industrial applications, such as 110-120 VAC line conditioners and 110-120 VAC power supplies and DC-AC inverters, including solar inverters and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).

　　The new power MOSFET series features ultra-low Rds(on), which improves system efficiency and allows designers to reduce component count when connecting multiple MOSFETs in parallel. IR's 300V MOSFET series features benchmark Rds(on), which provides higher efficiency, power density and reliability for industrial applications that require higher system efficiency. The new devices are certified for industrial grade and moisture sensitivity level 1 (MSL1), are lead-free and RoHS compliant.

　　The development of semiconductor materials and technology has promoted the development and progress of power devices. The coordinated application of the two has improved the utilization rate of electric energy and can gradually meet the current energy standards. We hope to develop more and better products with the help of various energy-saving solutions provided by IR to meet the growing new energy-saving needs of society.