Motor Drives, Robotics & Controls

April 2022
Bring Your Design to the Next Level of Efficiency with OptiMOS™ 6 100 V Power MOSFET Technology

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Figure 1. Infineon StrongIRFET™ and OptiMOS™ power MOSFET 20-300 V technologies

­Introducing a game changer for high switching frequency applications High efficiency, power density, and better thermal behavior are the key trends when it comes to power management. Infineon is constantly working on introducing highly innovative power MOSFET technologies able to meet the requirements for all app
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Date:
04/30/2022
New Technology Enables 1200 V SiC MOSFET in Various Packages
The new M1H chip has been designed to provide flexibility and is intended for use in applications, such as inverters in solar energy systems, which have to meet peak demand. The chip is also ideal for use in fast EV charging, energy storage systems and other industrial applications.   Advancements in the
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Date:
04/19/2022
Bringing WBG technology to the next level: Part 2 of 4 Editorial Series sponsored by infineon: Revolutionizing the next-gen power conversion applications

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Figure 1. Cross-section view of Infineon’s CoolGaN™ GIT device structure

Introduction Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology plays a major part in the wide bandgap revolution currently sweeping the semiconductor industry and manufacturers are racing to enter this burgeoning market. While the top-level advantages of using GaN devices in power electronics applications are clear (including higher switching frequencies, better performance at high temperatures, and lower power losses), the more subtle but nonetheless important differ
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Date:
04/14/2022
Bringing WBG technology to the next level: Part 3 of 4 Editorial Series sponsored by Infineon: The fundamental game-changers for breakthrough SiC designs

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Figure 1. Comparison of planar and trench MOSFET structure

Introduction Society’s demand for energy is continuously increasing. A plethora of digital content is consumed every day, appliances are connected via the cloud, and vehicle electrification is experiencing a renaissance – all of which are contributing to this energy demand upsurge. At the same time, carbon emis
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Date:
04/14/2022
Bringing WBG technology to the next level: Part 4 of 4 Editorial Series sponsored by Infineon: When to make the move from silicon to wide bandgap

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Figure 1. Suitability of Si, SiC, and GaN for power supply applications

Introduction Silicon power devices, such as MOSFETs and IGBTs, have a long history of reliable operation in power applications. They are low-cost, with a proven track record, and there’s a wide choice of suppliers so that designers can have a second source. They are also a familiar, well-established opti
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Date:
04/14/2022
How to Compete with Robots

Prof. Dario Floreano, Director of EPFL’s Laboratory of Intelligent System

­When it comes to the future of intelligent robots, the first question people ask is often: how many jobs will they make disappear? Whatever the answer, the second question is likely to be: how can I make sure that my job is not among them? In a study just published in Science Robotics, a team of
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Date:
04/14/2022
Bringing WBG technology to the next level: Part 1 of 4 Editorial Series sponsored by Infineon: Wide bandgap reliability is all about understanding how and why failures happen

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Figure 1. Examples for extrinsic defects in an amorphous layer, mathematically modeled via a local thinning effect in the gate-oxide of SiC devices

Introduction The unique properties of Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) devices make them increasingly popular alternatives for silicon in power electronics applications. The appeal of SiC devices lies in their ability to offer unipolar device concepts with low switching losses at high voltages, while GaN devices can switch at much higher frequencies. Although these properties enable smaller
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Date:
04/08/2022
Meeting the High Expectations of Industrial Applications
The large and diverse industrial market spans everything from IoT, robots, weather radar systems, motor drives and industrial lighting to test equipment, welders, power tools and forklifts. Some industrial systems, like standby generator controls and communications systems, must work on top of mountains that ca
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Date:
04/01/2022
Self Powered Autonomous Robot for Powerline Inspection Takes 2nd in EnergyTech University Prize National Finals
A student team from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University was named as a winner in the EnergyTech University Prize, a national competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Technology Transitions in partnership with American-Made Challenges. Teams were charged with identifying an
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Date:
04/01/2022
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