Fuji Electric Review
Vol.65-No.4,2019
Power Semiconductors Contributing in Energy Management
Power Semiconductors Contributing in Energy Management
The international community has adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement as an international framework to mitigate global warming. As a result, companies are being required to take positive actions to achieve both economic growth and solve social and environmental issues. Fuji Electric is also working on solving social and environmental issues in accordance with Paris Agreement based global warming countermeasures in Japan. The power semiconductors developed and commercialized by Fuji Electric are used as key devices in power electronics equipment, creating an important source of value through energy supply stabilization, automation and energy savings. In this special issue, we will introduce the latest technologies and products related to Fuji Electric’s power semiconductors.
BOROYEVICH, Dushan
FUJIHIRA, Tatsuhiko; MIYASAKA, Tadashi; IKAWA, Osamu
The demand for energy continues to increase throughout the world. It is against this backdrop that the international community has adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement as an international framework to mitigate global warming. As a result, companies are being required to take proactive measures as a member of the larger society in order to achieve both economic growth and solve social and environmental issues. Fuji Electric is working on solving social and environmental issues throughout the entire supply chain. For example, the power semiconductors developed and commercialized by Fuji Electric are used as key devices in power electronics equipment and create an important source of value through energy supply stabilization, automation and energy savings.
In this paper, we describe the current status and future outlook of power semiconductor products and technologies.
MINAGAWA, Kei; MORI, Takahiro; OSE, Tomofumi
Fuji Electric has developed the 7th-generation “X Series” IGBT-IPMs that allow inverters to achieve further miniaturization, loss reduction and performance improvement. By using the latest 7th-generation “X Series” chips and new control ICs, the product enables continuous operation at 150 °C, while achieving a loss reduction of about 10% compared with previous products. This makes it possible to increase the output current of equipment by approximately 31%. Furthermore, in addition to conventional protection functions, built-in temperature warning function makes it possible to avoid inverters stoppages. Moreover, the brake IGBT can be independently operated when lower-arm protection is activated, preventing overvoltage breakdown of semiconductor devices.
OKUMURA, Keiji; KINOSHITA, Akimasa; IWAYA, Masanobu
Fuji Electric is offering various types of power electronics equipment for the market in order to contribute to the realization of a low-carbon society. To achieve further energy savings, we have developed the 2nd-generation SiC trench gate MOSFETs. As a result, on-resistance has been reduced by 23% compared with the 1st-generation SiC trench gate MOSFETs through the application of smaller design rules for the devices, a thinner SiC substrate and higher channel mobility. Furthermore, usability has improved because recommended gate drive voltage changed to 15 V. We have also confirmed that there were no gate threshold voltage fluctuation due to gate bias and no characteristic degradation (increase in on-resistance) due to body diode conduction, both of which cause reliability issues for SiC-MOSFETs.
IWASAKI, Yoshinori; OKUMURA, Keiji; KANEKO, Satoshi
All-SiC modules can achieve significantly lower loss than Si-IGBT modules. Fuji Electric has been releasing All-SiC modules to the market using a new uniquely designed structural package. Recently, in order to further expand our product line-up, we developed All-SiC modules utilizing 2nd-generation SiC trench gate MOSFETs. These modules have compatibility with conventional Si-IGBT modules in respect to external dimensions and terminal arrangement. The inverter power dissipation loss has been reduced by 78%, which can contribute to the further downsizing of power conversion systems by increasing the current density due to the improved output current.
TEZUKA, Shinichi; DENTA, Toshio; TAMURA, Takahiro
Fuji Electric has developed an IPM that integrates a 3-phase inverter circuit, a control circuit and a protection circuit for the electric compressor in automotive air conditioning systems. This IPM is based on “X Series” IGBT chip and FWD chip technologies and utilizes low-loss and low-noise devices especially suited for automotive use. By applying this 600-V/30-A product to control the electric compressor in automotive air conditioning systems, it suppressed surge voltage during turn-off and reduced total loss by about 2% during operation at a carrier frequency of 20 kHz.
INOUE, Daisuke; TAMAI, Yuta; KOYAMA, Takahiro
In recent years, the automotive industry has accelerated the development and spread of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs). As a result, power modules need to be more compact and lightweight while achieving lower loss and higher output in order to improve fuel efficiency. Fuji Electric has developed a design technology for heat-dissipating cooling units, as well as a technology for replacing the aluminum wires in the main circuits of semiconductor devices with lead frames. 4th-generation direct liquid cooling modules for automotive applications use the lead frame wiring technology, as well as the enhanced design technology for heat-dissipating cooling units. They also reduce the footprint and height, thus improving power density per volume by 36% compared with 3rdgeneration direct liquid cooling modules.
KUSAKARI, Nobuharu; KITAMURA, Shoji; KATSUKI, Takashi
The market for electric vehicles (xEVs), such as hybrid vehicles, is rapidly expanding worldwide in response to the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) regulations in the United States and the strengthening of CO2 emission regulations in Japan, Europe and China. Fuji Electric has developed a DC-DC converter module for xEVs by applying the technology developed in small capacity modules for industrial applications. This newly developed product is designed for a full-bridge circuit and uses power MOSFETs with a super-junction structure on the primary side and SBDs on the secondary side. They are used for automotive applications with high reliability while reducing the footprint of a DCDC converter system by 40%.
HARA, Yukihito; KATO, Yoshiharu; TAMURA, Takahiro
Fuji Electric has developed and released a discrete IGBT for photovoltaic power generation PCSs and UPSs with a switching frequency of about 20 kHz. This device has enhanced trade-off characteristics of conductive loss and switching loss. It comes with ratings of 1,200 V/40 A, 75 A. Compared with conventional products, it reduces the turn-off switching loss by about 6% and collector-emitter saturation voltage by 0.55 V and improves the trade-off characteristics by 20% or more. The temperature of the discrete IGBT case in the simulated circuit of a T-type threelevel inverter was 2.4 °C to 3.4 °C lower than conventional products.
KOBAYASHI, Yoshinori; TANAKA, Kiminori; MORIMOTO, Toshimitsu
Switching power supplies for electronic devices are being required to improve efficiency and reduce system costs. Fuji Electric has developed the “FA6C00 Series” 4th-generation LLC current resonant control ICs, which improve efficiency at light loads and help reduce the number of power supply components. This series uses highfrequency burst control at light loads, several watts to several tens of watts, thereby improving efficiency by about 10% compared with conventional products. Furthermore, it utilizes resonant current phase ratio control to improve output response characteristics, reducing seven phase compensating parts. Using these ICs allows users to improve the efficiency in 75- to 300-W equipment, such as LED lighting power supplies, standard industrial power supplies, and consumer power supplies for LCD TVs, while reducing their system costs.
ASHINO, Kimihiro; NISHIKAWA, Mutsuo; UENO, Fumiya
Automobiles are being strictly required to improve fuel efficiency and comply with environmental and safety regulations. Fuji Electric has developed 7th-generation automotive high-pressure sensors to help meet these stricter regulations. Since the sensors are used in high-temperature and high-pressure environments, they have new package structure using stainless-steel diaphragm system to improve pressure resistance and combined with a sensor chip that has better temperature characteristics through utilization of a newly developed dual gate MOS transistor. This expands the applicable pressure range, ensuring operation at 150 °C and increasing accuracy.
Wafers by Transmission Polarization Microscopy
TAKENAKA, Kensuke; TAWARA, Takeshi; KATO, Tomohisa
4H-SiC single crystal wafers need to be analyzed carefully because they still have a higher crystal defect density than silicon wafers. As a method for non-destructive evaluation of crystal defects, synchrotron radiation x-ray topography is mainly used in a large synchrotron radiation facility, where is, however, not easily used. Therefore, as a nondestructive and convenient method for evaluating crystal defects in SiC wafers, we examined a technique for observing strain inside crystals caused by crystal dislocation using transmission polarization microscopy. This method is expected to be used in the detailed analysis of crystal dislocation that has been difficult by synchrotron radiation x-ray topograph alone, in acceptance inspections of commercially-available SiC epitaxial wafers, and in inspections of SiC device manufacturing processes.
New Products
MITOMO, Satoshi; ICHIKAWA, Hiroaki; HARADA, Takahito
In recent years, it has become necessary to improve energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions as measures against global warming. As a result, power conversion equipment that utilizes power semiconductors is being increasingly used in a wide range of fields. In particular, this kind of equipment has been undergoing capacity improvements and size reductions in the fields of railcars and renewable energy, including wind power generation and photovoltaic power generation. Therefore, the large-capacity insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules in the equipment need to be installed easily for large-capacities with parallel connection and downsized through further increased current density.
To meet these market demands, we have developed the HPnC (High Power next Core), which is highcurrent power module with a 7th-generation “X Series” chip in a new package (M292).
TAWADA, Nobuyuki; OGUCHI, Hiroyuki; HASHIZUME, Shingo
In recent years, deployment of industrial machinery such as production line robots and automatic check-in and check-out machines in the service industry has been accelerating in response to chronic labor shortages across all industries. The increasing number of various types of machines has required power supplies to meet the needs of a wide variety of output specifications.
From these backgrounds, Fuji Electric has developed and released the “FIP06 Series” multi-output AC-DC power supply that enables customers to freely select the number of outputs and corresponding voltages (see Fig. 1).
Highly Reliable Duplex Controller System
SHIMOKAWA, Takayuki; TAKAHASHI, Makiko
A monitoring and control system indicates equipment operating status and abnormalities. On the basis of the information on the monitor, a supervisor gives instructions to operate equipment and devices through a monitoring and control system. Controllers collect various items of information including those to be shown on the monitor from equipment and devices on site and executes appropriate programs according to the instruction from a supervisor.
Infrastructures supporting society, such as water treatment facilities, are required to provide continuous 24-hour operation throughout a year. Even a brief operation downtime may disturb the service to be provided, which may lead to a significant loss to business operators. To avoid facility outage, high reliability is required for monitoring and control systems.
In order to meet such a market request, Fuji Electric has developed the “MICREX-SX SPH5000H” controller (see Fig. 1), which is a new CPU module of the integrated controller “MICREX-SX Series.” This module has high reliability with a duplex system.
Figure 2 shows the system configuration example of the monitoring and control system using the MICREX-SX SPH5000H. Table 1 shows the comparison of performance and specifications between the MICREX-SX SPH5000H and the “MICREX-SX SPH2000,” the conventional product.
The MICREX-SX SPH5000H has the features described in the following sections to enable the construction of highly-reliable and large-scale monitoring and control systems.