Please give some application examples for IGBTs.

IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors) are power semiconductor devices that utilize the advantages of MOSFETs and bipolar transistors (BJTs: Bipolar Junction Transistors). Taking advantage of their high voltage resistance and ability to handle large currents, IGBTs are widely used as switching elements in motor drives, UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies), IH (Induction Heating) cookers, etc. Specifically, they are used in a variety of power control applications, such as motor drives, inverters, voltage conversion (converters), power conversion, and resonant circuits, achieving highly efficient operation.

Fig. 1 Motor drive circuit：For AC input, it consists of a rectifier block and an inverter block. IGBTs are mainly used in the inverter block.
Fig. 1 Motor drive circuit

The main difference between the characteristics of IGBTs and MOSFETs is the voltage drop and switching speed when on. MOSFETs have low on-resistance in the low current region, but this on-resistance increases in the high voltage and high current regions. This is due to the effects of temperature rise, channel saturation, and parasitic resistance. On the other hand, even if IGBTs are made to withstand high voltages, the on-resistance is low due to the conductivity modulation effect, allowing for high current density. This effect is even more pronounced in the high current region, and the on-resistance tends to decrease even further.
Due to the above characteristics, IGBTs are suitable for high voltage and large current applications because they can reduce on-resistance due to the conductivity modulation effect even when the voltage is high. In terms of switching speed, IGBTs are inferior to MOSFETs. Due to these features, IGBTs and MOSFETs do not compete as power devices, but rather complement each other. IGBTs are used for high voltage and high current applications, and MOSFETs are used for high-speed switching applications.

Fig. 1 shows an example of a motor drive circuit. IGBTs are used as switching elements in inverter circuits (which convert DC to AC) and are used in a wide range of applications, from small to large motor drives. The IGBTs used in these inverters are used in home appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators, industrial motors, and main motor controls for automobiles, achieving highly efficient operation.

Fig. 2 UPS circuit：Consists of converter, battery, and inverter blocks, and IGBTs are used in all blocks.
Fig. 2 UPS circuit

An example of a UPS circuit is shown in Fig. 2. IGBTs are mainly used in medium to large capacity models of several kVA or more. They contribute to high efficiency and space saving.

Fig. 3 IH cooker circuit: Two types are shown, a current resonant type and a voltage resonant type, both of which use IGBTs in the resonant circuit.
Fig. 3 IH cooker circuit

Fig. 3 shows an example of an IH circuit. In IH, zero voltage switching (ZVS) or zero current switching (ZCS) is adopted by utilizing the LC resonance phenomenon to reduce switching loss. However, since the resonance voltage and resonance current are large, IGBTs are often used. This circuit configuration is also used in rice cookers, microwave ovens, etc.

Soft switching is also explained in the following FAQ:

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