Design approach of newly developed 3.3kV IGBT modules

High voltage IGBT (HVIGBT) modules with high performance in the areas of low power loss and high reliability are required for high power applications such as traction, large industrial motor drives, and medium voltage converters. Unfortunately, these performances are often in reciprocal relationship. In order to achieve a higher performance with optimized tradeoffs at the 3.3 kV level, a new IGBT and free wheeling diode (FWD) chip set was developed. This paper describes the optimization of the chip design using several simulation tools and Taguchi method experiments to find the most influential design factors and to secure the most robust design.