Changing market requirements constantly force manufacturers to look for new solutions. In many cases, technological progress is now reduced to the automation of processes, enabling the elimination of human error, the improvement of quality of life or the increase of production capacity in industrial plants. Due to climate policy, as well as the constantly increasing need for electricity, the possibility of producing and storing energy from renewable energy sources is a very important issue. Then, thanks to this form of energy, we are increasingly focusing on electric cars, which will supplant polluting combustion engines. For these and many other devices to work, semiconductor power modules are required.
What are power semiconductor modules and what are their functions?
Power modules are elements commonly used in systems related to the transformation of electrical energy in a very broad sense. This group includes elements such as diodes, thyristors and transistors, which are designed to operate in high-current and high-voltage systems.
The demanding characteristics of the operation result in the need to use a sufficiently large housing, which allows efficient dissipation of the heat generated during the passage of high-intensity current. Often, a metal base is also used in the housing structure for this purpose. The transmission of currents with high parameters requires the use of screw terminal or connector outputs, with which the devices in question are equipped. Depending on the customer's requirements, both single housing solutions and more complex connections, ready for direct application, are available.
Due to the continuous progress in the efficiency of energy transformation, it is worth noting that power modules are widely used in the highly developed electromobility industry, being an element of electric motor control systems in electric cars, as well as in the widely understood industrial sector, which relies on electric drives of various power ratings. Power semiconductor modules can be found in all kinds of power supplies, power controllers or rectifiers. They are also part of the equipment of inverters or energy storage systems. They are responsible for transforming the electrical energy produced in turbine systems.
Structure and features of Semikron modules
Thyristor or diode modules are the simplest circuits, and contain one or two semiconductor components. Various connection configurations exist, including diode modules connected in series, with a common anode and a common cathode. Thyristor modules, on the other hand, can be equipped with a single thyristor, with a push-pull semiconductor structure, using a minimum of two amplifier elements, which allows for a doubling of the output power, a double series connection, or a solution with a common cathode. In systems equipped with thyristors, the power can be regulated.
Thanks to their efficient heat dissipation system, these devices are prepared for interaction with systems with high conduction currents, even up to over 3kA.
Due to their modular design, thyristors can also be permanently connected to diode elements. Devices of this type are commonly used in rectifiers, welders or DC motors. An example of such a connection used in DC motors is the SKKH106/12E SEMIKRON module, with a maximum direct current of 200A.
IGBT modules: this is a special solution that combines the advantages of a bipolar and a unipolar transistor. In addition to the ease of adjustment, which is carried out by changing the adjustable gate potential, the device allows the handling of currents in excess of 1000A. It has the ability to block voltages even higher than 6kV and integration with circuits with a power of up to several hundred kilowatts. An example of this solution is the SKM600GA17E4 module, commonly used in AC inverter controllers or uninterruptible power supplies.
To sum up
Semikron's wide range of products is used in many areas of modern technology. The products are used both in devices for domestic use and in modern and often complex industrial systems. Many years of experience in the production of power modules and care for the highest quality result in consumer appreciation and guarantee long-term reliable operation.
Text drafted by Transfer Multisort Elektronik Sp. z o.o.
