April 28, 2014, Seoul - STMicroelectronics (hereinafter ST), a global semiconductor company contributing to customers across diverse electronic applications, has announced a new IGBT (Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor) HB Series that delivers up to 40% lower turn-off energy losses compared to competitors' high-frequency chips and reduces conduction losses by up to 30%.

The HB Series applies ST's advanced Trench-Gate Field-Stop High-Speed (TGFS) technology to achieve very low saturation voltage (Vce(sat)) averaging 1.6V while maintaining minimum collector current turn-off tails, thereby minimizing switching and turn-on energy losses. Additionally, thanks to this excellent process control technology, uniform production management of key parameters is possible, repeatability is improved, and system design can be further simplified.

ST's HB Series IGBT improves energy efficiency in photovoltaic inverters, induction heaters, welding machines, UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies), PFC (Power-Factor Correction), and other high-frequency power converters. With voltage rating extended to 650V, the breakdown voltage remains at minimum 600V even when ambient temperature drops to -40°C, making it an ideal chip for photovoltaic inverters used in cold climates. Maximum operating junction temperature is 175°C and with a wide Safe Operating Area (SOA), reliability is enhanced while heat sink sizes can be reduced.

The HB Series is available with maximum rated currents of 30A to 80A (at 100°C conditions), various power package products, as well as diode-embedded products optimized for resonant circuits or hard switching circuits.