3 ms·
The reasons for using IGBTs is not only because BJTs withstand higher voltages, but also because their Vce(sat) can provide much lower loss than Rds(on) at high
by Workaccount2 1y ago
The reasons for using IGBTs is not only because BJTs withstand higher voltages, but also because their Vce(sat) can provide much lower loss than Rds(on) at high currents. I x V vs I^2/R.
- londons_explore 1y agoVce never really goes below 2 volts... Which for a 1000 amps means the running costs of the converter are 2000 watts * number of stages (~2800). 5.6MW of heat. That quickly dwarfs the purchase cost of those IGBTs. Whereas the same calculation for MOSFETs [1] gives 4242 stages and an Rdson of 1.9 milliohms... = 8 Megawatts! Which sounds worse... But you can parallel the MOSFETs by spending double the money on them, reducing the loss to 4 megawatts... Or you can double it again to reduce the loss to 2 megawatts, etc. When you run something 24*7, energy losses cost way more than capital costs - and MOSFETs let you make that tradeoff, whereas IGBTs do not. [1]: https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/power/mosfet/silicon-carbide/modules/ff2000uxtr33t2m1/ https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/power/mosfet/silicon...