HEV Power Electronics - Adapting to automotive requirements

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HEV Power Electronics - Adapting to automotive requirements

Münzer, Mark Nils / Thoben, Marcus / Gietzold, Thomas

Over the last decades the development of power electronics has lead to significant changes in the industrial world. Especially due to the introduction of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV), power electronics found its way into the automotive industry, too. In 2005 the total market size for power semiconductors was close to 2 billion Euros according to an IMS power semiconductor study. Automotive industry accounted for less than 5 % of this market. Therefore, it is no surprise that most power semiconductor components on the market have been developed for non-automotive applications so far. This paper focuses on the requirements for power semiconductors in HEV applications and compares them with the features of existing industrial and traction modules. Three main areas for future development will be presented in detail. As power semiconductors are the key components of advanced power electronics the first paragraph will describe the various types and evaluate their high temperature capability. Afterwards, the second section deals with the influence of interconnection technologies on the reliability of power semiconductor modules. Finally, technologies for drivers and strategies for driving power semiconductors will be discussed in the third part.