The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor, or IGBT for short, is ideal for use as a semiconductor switching device because it is a hybrid of a MOSFET and a conventional Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT).
The IGBT Transistor combines the best features of these two common transistors—a MOSFET’s high input impedance and fast switching speeds and a bipolar transistor’s low saturation voltage—to create a new type of transistor switching device that can handle large collector-emitter currents with almost no gate current drive.
ordinary protected door bipolar semiconductor
Ordinary IGBT
The Protected Door Bipolar Semiconductor, (IGBT) joins the protected entryway (consequently the initial segment of its name) innovation of the MOSFET with the result execution qualities of a customary bipolar semiconductor, (thus the second piece of its name).
The “IGBT Transistor” is the result of this hybrid combination: it has the output switching and conductivity of a bipolar transistor but is voltage-controlled like a MOSFET.
IGBTs are mostly used in power electronics applications like inverters, converters, and power supplies where power bipolars and power MOSFETs don’t quite meet the needs of the solid state switching device. High-current and high-voltage bipolars are accessible, yet their exchanging speeds are slow, while power MOSFETs might have higher exchanging speeds, however high-voltage and high-current gadgets are costly and difficult to accomplish.
In comparison to a BJT or MOSFET, the insulated gate bipolar transistor device has a number of advantages, including a higher power gain, higher voltage operation, and lower input losses of the MOSFET. In reality, it is a Darlington-type FET with a bipolar transistor integrated into it.
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor
We can see that the insulated gate bipolar transistor is a three-terminal transconductance device that connects a PNP bipolar transistor output to an insulated gate N-channel MOSFET input in a Darlington configuration.
Consequently, the terminals are designated as: Gate, emitter, and collector The conductance path through which current flows is connected to two of its terminals (C-E), while the device is controlled by its third terminal (G).
The insulated gate bipolar transistor amplifies its input signal by a ratio of its output signal to its input signal. The gain of a conventional bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is roughly proportional to Beta, the ratio of the input current to the output current.
For a metal oxide semiconductor field impact semiconductor or MOSFET, there is no info current as the entryway is secluded from the primary current conveying channel. As a result, an IGBT and a FET are both transconductance devices because their gains are proportional to the ratio of the change in input voltage to the change in output current. The IGBT can then be regarded as a power BJT with a MOSFET serving as the base current.
Similar to BJT and MOSFET transistors, the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor can be utilized in small signal amplifier circuits. However, the IGBT is the best solid state switch for power electronics because it combines the low conduction loss of a BJT with the high switching speed of a power MOSFET.
Additionally, the IGBT’s “on-state” resistance, RON, is significantly lower than that of a comparable MOSFET. For a given switching current, this indicates that the I2R drop across the bipolar output structure is significantly lower. A power MOSFET’s forward blocking operation is identical to that of an IGBT transistor.
The insulated gate bipolar transistor has voltage and current ratings that are comparable to those of the bipolar transistor when it is utilized as a static controlled switch. In any case, the presence of a disengaged entryway in an IGBT makes it significantly less complex to drive than the BJT as considerably less drive power is required.
Simply activating and deactivating the Gate terminal of an insulated gate bipolar transistor is all that is required to turn it “ON” or “OFF.” The device will remain in its “ON” state if a positive input voltage signal is applied across the Gate and the Emitter. On the other hand, if the input gate signal is set to zero or slightly negative, the device will turn “OFF” much like an eMOSFET or bipolar transistor. On-state channel resistance, which is significantly lower than that of a standard MOSFET, is yet another advantage of the IGBT.
