power electronic
The term power electronics refers to a large subfield of electrical engineering that deals with controlling, converting and switching electrical energy with the aid of semiconductor components. The power ranges in power electronics are not fixed, but they range from a voltage range of 5 V to about 400 kV and a current range of 500 mA to 6 kA.
In power transmission, the range of transmittable power extends from less than one watt in voltage regulators, relay or valve drivers to several gigawatts in high-voltage direct current( HVDC) transmission.
Power electronics play an important role in drive technology. In many areas, large drives are controlled by power electronics, or in power generation, frequency converters are used to feed power directly into the grid. In addition, power electronics is an important link between energy generation and energy consumption and contributes to the economical use of energy, an increasingly expensive raw material. Its task is to deliver the generated energy efficiently and reliably to the consumer. Actuators that adapt the voltage levels and frequencies to the different energy networks as far as possible without losses contribute to this. The efficiency of these voltage converters reduces the transmitted energy.
Power electronics components are power semiconductors that switch current and voltages. Frequently used are: Power Diodes, Power Transistors both Bipolar Transistors and Field Effect Trans istors( FET), Junction Field-Effect Transistors( JFET), Super Junction Transistors( SJT), Power MOSFET such as the Super Junction MOSFET( SJ-MOSFET), GTO thyristors, Integrated Gate Commutated Thyristor( IGCT), a further development of the GTO thyristor to reduce circuit complexity, Insulated Gate BipolarTransistor( IGBT) and Thyristors (Diac/Triac).
Bipolar transistors, MOSFETs and SBR diodes are used in switching power supplies and DC/DC converters, GTO thyristors and IGCT thyristors in power converter technology. The requirements for power electronic components are high reverse voltages, low switching losses and, above all, high switching currents.