It is reported that IGBT has the advantages of low driving power, large current capacity, high switching frequency, simple control circuit and low loss, and is an ideal power semiconductor. With the development of science and technology, the types of large-scale electrical equipment are increasing, and the application scope is expanding. The demand for high-voltage and high-power IGBT modules with high voltage and large current is also increasing. High-voltage and high-power IGBT modules can be widely used in high-voltage transmission, photovoltaic power generation, wind power generation, industrial control, electric vehicles, rail transit, aerospace and other fields.
High-voltage and high-power IGBT module began to be developed and applied in 1990s, and it was first applied in the field of rail transit. Later, with the gradual expansion of application scope, the market has become more and more stringent on the stability and reliability of high-voltage and high-power IGBT modules. At present, the application scope of high-voltage and high-power IGBT modules in high-tech industries is still expanding, and silicon materials have been mainly used in its manufacturing. In order to further improve its performance, the application proportion of new generation semiconductor materials such as silicon carbide is increasing.
Figure1: IGBT module
In the field of high-voltage transmission, the HVDC transmission technology of high-voltage and high-power IGBT module is becoming more and more mature. Compared with the traditional thyristor transmission technology, it occupies less space, has high flexibility and large transmission capacity. In the field of electric vehicles, high-voltage and high-power IGBT modules can be used to manufacture DC/DC converters. DC/DC converters are indispensable auxiliary electronic equipment in electric vehicles, and their function is to convert high-voltage electricity output by power batteries into low-voltage electricity for automobile power supply.
In addition, UHVDC transmission has the advantages of large transmission capacity, long transmission distance, low loss, multi-power supply, multi-landing point power reception, etc., which is in line with the development trend of power industry, and its laying scale in China is expanding rapidly. China's electric vehicle industry is booming. According to the data released by China Automobile Association, in 2021, the output of pure electric vehicles in China was 2.761 million, up 178.8% year-on-year. However, only from the perspective of UHVDC transmission system and electric vehicle market, China's high-voltage and high-power IGBT modules have broad prospects for development.
Figure2: high-voltage and high-power IGBT modules
According to the Report on in-depth Market Investigation and Development Prospect Forecast of Chinese High-voltage and High-power IGBT Module Industry from 2023 to 2027 released by NEWSIJIE Industry Research Center, on the whole, the technical barriers of high-voltage and high-power IGBT modules are constantly improving, and at present, the number of enterprises that can mass-produce high-performance high-voltage and high-power IGBT modules in the world is small, mainly German INFINEON, Swiss ABB, Japanese MITSUBISHI Electric, Japanese HITACHI, Japanese TOSHIBA, etc. Driven by the rapid development of downstream industries, the development speed of high-voltage and high-power IGBT modules in China is accelerating, and it has already had production capacity, but there is still a certain gap in product performance compared with international leading enterprises.
According to industry analysts in NEWSIJIE, high-voltage and high-power IGBT modules are developing in the direction of high functional integration, high isolation voltage, large driving power and high switching frequency, which will further reduce product volume and improve product performance. No matter from the downstream application market or the technology upgrading space, the future high-voltage and high-power IGBT module industry has great development space. In the long run, the market prospect of high-voltage and high-power IGBT modules is good, and Chinese enterprises need to speed up the pace of technological upgrading and realize import substitution of high-end products.
High-voltage, High-power IGBT Modules are Penetrating Multiple Fields and Experiencing a Broad Development Room-China.exportsemi.com
