Freescale Semiconductor has announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance with Fuji Electric Systems, a subsidiary of Fuji Electric, to collaborate on insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) technology and products for hybrid electric and electric vehicles (HEV and EV). Working with Fuji Electric, Freescale will look to add high-power IGBT products to its portfolio of electronic powertrain applications, market those products and produce new products based on customer input.
IGBTs are currently the largest segment of the market for EV power systems. With the addition of IGBTs to its portfolio, Freescale will offer all of the major electronic components of EV systems, including microcontrollers, analogue gate drivers, battery monitoring ICs, power IGBTs and modelling / simulation tools, and software components / tools for motor control development. The IGBT is a high-voltage, high-current switch connected directly to the traction motor in a hybrid electric or electric vehicle. It takes direct current energy from the car’s battery and, through the inverter, converts the alternating current control signals into the high-current, high-voltage energy needed to commutate or turn the motor. The IGBT is an ideal motor inverter switch for 20KW to 120KW EV motors due to its high efficiency and fast switching. The more efficient the IGBT, the less power is lost to wasted heat, resulting in better mileage or “miles per watt” (MPW) of energy. “We are pleased to work with Freescale on IGBT technology and draw on their automotive capability,” said Kuniaki Yanagisawa, Fuji Electric Systems corporate vice president and general manager of Semiconductors Group. “This alliance will enable our IGBT technology to contribute to the increased efficiency of electric vehicles.”
