Reliability of ABB IGCT units
Rockss Automation Outstanding resource supply ABB IGCT and IGBT module，For example 3BHL000387P0101 etc.
The difference between the IGCT and IGBT mainly comes from the power levelsof available high power semiconductors. Toreach the same power levels as withIGCTs, the IGBT modules need to beparallel connected, thus increasing thenumber of devices by a factor of 2. For thesame topology with the same number ofdevices, the difference in expected long.
A concern when comparing ICGTs withIGBTs is the reliability of the fairly largeIGCT gate unit. Actually, the circuitry issimple but requires a certain amount ofcapacitor energy to clear the gate.Especially the electrolytic capacitors on theIGCT gate unit have been designed forreliability and have been selected carefullywith considerations made regarding aging.Our experience shows that the gate unitreliability is well within an acceptablerange. How competitive this reliability istowards the IGBT gate units is difficult tosay, due to the absence of published fielddata for gate units for devices in a powerrange close to the IGCT.When comparing power semiconductordevices such as IGCTs and IGBTs, it mustbe considered that the IGCT has anintegrated gate unit compared with highpower IGBT modules that work with aseparate gate unit. On the other hand,certain IGCTs need a separate free-wheeldiode that most IGBT modules haveintegrated within the same package.Consequently, to make a good comparisonthe IGCT with a free-wheel diode must becompared with an IGBT module with itsgate drive.
The difference between the IGCT and IGBT mainly comes from the power levelsof available high power semiconductors. Toreach the same power levels as withIGCTs, the IGBT modules need to beparallel connected, thus increasing thenumber of devices by a factor of 2. For thesame topology with the same number ofdevices, the difference in expected long.
A concern when comparing ICGTs withIGBTs is the reliability of the fairly largeIGCT gate unit. Actually, the circuitry issimple but requires a certain amount ofcapacitor energy to clear the gate.Especially the electrolytic capacitors on theIGCT gate unit have been designed forreliability and have been selected carefullywith considerations made regarding aging.Our experience shows that the gate unitreliability is well within an acceptablerange. How competitive this reliability istowards the IGBT gate units is difficult tosay, due to the absence of published fielddata for gate units for devices in a powerrange close to the IGCT.When comparing power semiconductordevices such as IGCTs and IGBTs, it mustbe considered that the IGCT has anintegrated gate unit compared with highpower IGBT modules that work with aseparate gate unit. On the other hand,certain IGCTs need a separate free-wheeldiode that most IGBT modules haveintegrated within the same package.Consequently, to make a good comparisonthe IGCT with a free-wheel diode must becompared with an IGBT module with itsgate drive.