With the rapid development of new energy vehicles, industrial control and other fields in China, the market demand for IGBT, a key component, continues to be strong. Chinese companies are rapidly expanding in the IGBT field.

What is IGBT?

IGBT, also known as Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor, is a composite fully controlled voltage driven power semiconductor device composed of Bipolar Transistor (BJT) and Insulated Gate Field Effect Transistor (MOS), which can control a higher voltage range.

According to the packaging form, IGBTs can be divided into three categories: IGBT discrete devices, IPM modules, and IGBT modules.

IGBT discrete devices are mainly used in low-power household appliances and distributed photovoltaic inverters; IPM modules are applied to white goods products such as variable frequency air conditioners and variable frequency washing machines; IGBT modules are applied in fields such as high-power inverters, new energy vehicles, and centralized photovoltaics.

With the development of new energy vehicles, the demand for power device IGBT is increasing day by day, and IGBT, known as the "heart of power devices", has entered an unprecedented shortage situation.

Industry News

According to data from Fuchang Electronics, orders from international IGBT giants such as Infineon, Anson, and STMicroelectronics are currently relatively full, and prices are generally stable. Product lead times are generally over 39 weeks, especially for some scarce materials such as wind and solar storage IGBTs, which have lead times of over 52 weeks.

The tight supply-demand situation has opened up opportunities for the development of domestic IGBT manufacturers. According to statistics, from January to July 2023, a total of 17 IGBT projects were launched or signed, with a cumulative investment of over 15 billion yuan, indicating the rapid expansion of Chinese enterprises in the IGBT field.

Market application

IGBT can adjust the voltage, current, frequency, phase, etc. in the circuit according to signal instructions in industrial devices, achieving precise control. It is widely used in fields such as motor energy conservation, rail transportation, smart grid, aerospace, household appliances, automotive electronics, new energy generation, and new energy vehicles. It plays an important role in power control, energy conversion, and industrial automation.

1. Automotive field:

IGBT, as a power semiconductor device, is an important component in the field of new energy vehicle electronics. It is mainly responsible for energy conversion and transmission, such as motor control, charging system, battery management system, etc.

IGBT has the characteristics of high switching speed, low saturation voltage drop, and high capacity, which can effectively improve the energy utilization efficiency and range of automobiles.

The application of IGBT contributes to the lightweighting, miniaturization, and high efficiency of automotive electronic devices.

2. Photovoltaic field:

IGBT is mainly used in key components such as inverters and maximum power point trackers (MPPT) in photovoltaic systems.

The high efficiency and reliability of IGBT can ensure the stable operation of photovoltaic systems in harsh environments.

IGBT can effectively reduce the cost of photovoltaic systems, improve energy conversion efficiency, achieve smooth output, and optimize the system.

The domestic enterprises that produce IGBT chips mainly include contract manufacturers and IDM mode power device companies. As domestic manufacturers gradually release their production capacity, the pace of domestic substitution is also accelerating.

Since its inception, IGBT has continuously undergone technological iterations, mainly improving and developing towards reducing switching losses and creating thinner structures. It continuously upgrades and improves its vertical structure, gate structure, and silicon wafer processing technology, and various indicators are constantly optimized in evolution. At present, IGBT chips have been iterated to the seventh generation of fine trench gate field cutoff IGBT, but considering cost, the most widely used product is still the fourth generation IGBT.

At present, the production capacity expansion of IGBT chips in China is relatively active, but the total production capacity still accounts for a low proportion globally, and there is still a large space for localization.

In the future, with the continuous improvement of technology and production capacity by domestic manufacturers, the pace of domestic substitution will continue to accelerate, providing a more solid foundation for the development of the domestic semiconductor industry.

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