Traditionally, power converter design for energy storage systems (BESS) normally focuses on conversion efficiency and total harmonic distortion. In these designs, the battery is often modeled as a simple dc voltage source with fixed capacity and resistance. However, when it comes to high-density BESS and electric vehicle architectures, the interaction between the inverter’s switching strategy […]
inverters
Why inverter designers need to understand space vector modulation
Space vector modulation (SVM) is a sophisticated digital control technique that improves three-phase inverter performance over traditional sinusoidal PWM (SPWM). SVM’s higher DC bus utilization supports a higher output voltage, reduced harmonics, and lower switching losses, but it requires more complex calculations compared to SPWM. SVM can improve DC bus utilization by 15%. Optimized SVM […]
High-voltage inverter brick handles 650 A RMS currents
ROHM Semiconductor announced that its SiC MOSFET bare chips are now integrated in Schaeffler’s new high-voltage inverter brick, which has entered mass production for a major Chinese automaker. The inverter brick generates high-frequency current pulses that operate the vehicle’s electric motor. The component supports battery voltages beyond the standard 800V while managing RMS currents of […]
What are the basic multilevel inverter topologies?
A multilevel inverter (MLI) is a power electronic device designed to generate a stepped ac voltage level at its output by combining multiple lower-level dc voltages as inputs. This FAQ will cover the three basic MLI topologies: diode-clamped MLI, capacitor-clamped MLI, and cascaded H-Bridge MLI. Conventional two-level inverter and MLI A conventional two-level inverter (Figure […]
150 V GaN-based inverter optimized for industrial and battery-powered systems
Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) announces the release of the EPC91200, a motor drive inverter reference design for three-phase brushless DC (BLDC) motor applications. This reference design integrates the EPC2305, a 150 V, 3.0 mΩ RDS(on) enhancement-mode GaN FET, and is designed to support voltage ranges from 30 V to 130 V. These voltage capabilities […]
Reference design bridges micro and string inverter gap
Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) has introduced the EPC9178 reference design for photovoltaic (PV) optimizers. The design aims to improve reliability while reducing passive components in solar energy systems, advancing GaN technology applications in renewable energy. The EPC9178 features a back-to-back buck-boost converter topology that helps optimize energy harvesting for individual solar panels during conditions […]
1200V, 40A IGBT powers solar inverters
Magnachip Semiconductor Corporation announced the completion of the development of its 1200V 75A Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) in a TO-247PLUS package, designed for solar inverters. The Company plans to start mass production in October this year. Magnachip entered the solar inverter market in 2020 by introducing the 1200V 40A IGBT (MBQ40T120QFS) and began offering […]
Dual-channel gate drivers offer thermal management for inverter modules
Power Integrations has announced the launch of the SCALE-iFlex XLT family of dual-channel plug-and-play gate drivers. These drivers are designed for the operation of single LV100 (Mitsubishi), XHP 2 (Infineon), HPnC (Fuji Electric), and equivalent semiconductor modules up to 2300 V blocking voltage. The new gate drivers are suitable for wind, energy storage, and solar […]
High-voltage SiC inverter control modules accelerate e-mobility designs and development
At the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC), CISSOID released its new series of SiC Inverter Control Modules (ICMs) dedicated to the E-mobility market. These software-powered SiC Inverter Control Modules are designed to help engineers create functionally safe, robust, and modular E-motor drives while dramatically shortening time-to-market. The new CXT-ICM3SA series offers optimal hardware and software […]
Chips provide input/output isolation for -60 to 60 V conversion to logic signals
NOVOSENSE Microelectronics has introduced two new isolated digital input (DI) chips suitable for 24V digital signal input in industrial control applications such as PLCs, servos, and inverters. The 4-channel NSI8604 and the 8-channel NSI8608 provide input/output isolation when converting voltages in the range of -60V to 60V to logic signals. Both devices support bi-directional digital […]
