Trends in power electronics and motor drives

The emergence of power semiconductor devices such as insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) or injection-enhanced gate transistors (IEGTs) and gate-commutated turn-off (GCT) thyristors or integrated gate-commutated thyristors (IGCTs) enables power conversion systems to expand into utility and industry applications. Much attention has been paid to power switching devices based on wide-bandgap semiconductors such as silicon carbide(SiC). These devices are expected to have the following advantages over silicon devices; low switching and conduction losses, especially in power conversion systems operating as high as, or exceeding 600 V. This paper describes trends in power electronics and motor drives, including the personal views and expectations of the author.