Infineon's IH solution for induction range developers showcases gate drivers and reverse-conducting IGBTs based on Infineon's silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology using a half-bridge board.

Infineon's Vice President Song Hyun-soo presented on the topic of 'Infineon's power switch solution for induction heating (IH), an essential item for smart kitchens' at the e4ds webinar on the 5th.

On this day, Vice President Song covered the following: △ Introduction of the induction cooking system △ IH technology △ 650V-class reverse conducting R6 IGBT and its application evaluation mode, operation verification △ Comparison of switching waveforms using SiC MOSFET △ Double pulse test △ Infineon simulation tool, etc.

Induction heating is a heating method that uses the principle of electromagnetic induction, when a resonant inverter generates a magnetic field. Eddy currents are induced in the cookware, generating heat, and all electromagnetic energy is transferred to the cookware, making it much more efficient and safer.

Manager Song said that compared to existing electric heating methods, induction has the advantage of high efficiency at around 90%, while highlight has the advantage of high stability and easy cleaning because it does not heat the top plate as opposed to highlight.

The key features of the reverse conducting R5/R6 IGBTs are improved thermal characteristics, which maximizes the system output power. Infineon ensures high reliability with low dispersion, high robustness, and stable temperature characteristics.

IGBTs of the 650V R6 series are applicable to half-bridge topologies and are mainly used in multi-cooktops and inverter microwave ovens. They are characterized by high efficiency, less sensitivity to control errors, and therefore easy to control, and high reliability because the voltage is stable compared to single.

Regarding reverse conducting IGBTs suitable for IH, Vice President Song said that for IH and soft switching applications, Infineon has developed RC-H technology that integrates a reverse-parallel diode into the IGBT die, which reduces manufacturing wafer costs and allows the use of a cheaper version of the TO247 package. Key benefits include improved temperature characteristics, maximizing system power, and improving EMI by softening waveforms.

In the middle and latter part of the lecture, Manager Song covered the technical aspects related to Infineon IH, and explained directly through images: △evaluation board and connection method △coil and container △duffle pulse test for comparing IGBT and SiC MOSFET △simulation tool provided online on the Infineon website.

To compare IGBTs and SiC MOSFETs, he presented waveforms measured directly and explained that when SiC MOSFETs are used, switching is much faster than when IGBTs are used. In the double test results for comparing switching characteristics, SiC MOSFETs were measured at microjoules, which was 88% less than when IGBTs were used.

Finally, Vice President Song introduced that Infineon simulation tools can select the right product for the application, perform switching and conduction loss simulations including thermal performance evaluations, compare various products and inputs, and save the results.

In a live Q&A session, Vice President Song Hyun-soo said about the advantages of Infineon power switching elements, "Infineon products have high reliability with low dispersion, high robustness, and stable temperature characteristics."

The July 5 webinar will be available for replay at e4ds.com.