Abstract
The pervasive use of the insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) in all sectors of the economy has made it an essential element for improving the comfort, convenience, and quality of life for billions of people around the world. After a discussion of the applications spectrum for power devices, this chapter describes the basic structure and operating principle of the IGBT. The circumstances and efforts undertaken to take the device from concept to a commercialized product are described to provide a historical perspective. The rapid growth in power ratings for the IGBT over the last 40years was achieved by increasing the blocking voltage to 6.5kV and making multichip modules that can handle hundreds of amperes. Recently, the extension of the concept to silicon carbide material has allowed extending the blocking voltage to the 20kV level.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
