What is Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor?

Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor is the abbreviation of

IGBT and it is actually a semiconductor device. It has a
wide range of bipolar current carrying capacity and has
three terminals. It has CMOS input and bipolar output
and most of the experts think that it is a voltage
controlled bipolar device. Both BJT and MOSFET in
monolithic form the design of IGBT can be done. Power
circuits, pulse with modulation,interruptible power
supply, power electronics, and much more are the
applications of the insulated gate bipolar transistor. For
reducing the audible noise level and for increasing the
performance efficiency this device is used. Resonant
mode converter circuits also uses it. For both low
conduction and switching loss optimized insulated gate
bipolar transistor is used.

Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor

A 3 terminal semiconductor device with each terminal
named as gate, emitter, and collector. Conductance path
and gate terminal is associated with emitter and control
terminal of the IGBT. The ratio between the input and
output signal is called the calculation of the amplification
attained. The sum of the gain is equal to the ratio of the
output current to the input current named Beta for the
conventional BJT. Mosfets or BJTS are the amplifier
circuits where IGBT is mainly used. The combination of
lower conduction loss in an amplifier circuit there is an
occurrence of ideal solid state which is ideal in many
uses of power electronics.

Basic diagram of IGBT

In the N channel IGBT the Si section is almost the same
as vertical power of MOSFET without P+ injecting layer.
There is a share of metal oxide semiconductor with P-
wells though N+ regions. There are 4 layers in N+ layer
and the ones situation in the upper layer are called the
source and the lower ones are the drain.

There are two types of IGBT

Non Punch Through IGBT

Punch Through IGBT

If the IGBT is with N+ buffer layer then it is called NPT
IGBT
If the IGBT is without N+ buffer layer then it is called PT
IGBT

The working of an IGBT is faster than the power BJT and

power MOSFET.

Circuit of an IGBT
PNP , JFET, MOSFET, and NPN transistors are used for a
simple IGBT driver circuit depending on its basic
construction. The JFET transistor is used for connecting
the collector of the NPN transistor to the base of the PNP
transistor. There is also a negative feedback loop in it.
Among the neighboring IGBT cells the transistor denotes
the structure of the current. Emitter, gate, and collector
are the terminals of the IGBT shown.

Characteristics of IGBT
It is a voltage controlled device and therefore a small
amount of voltage is enough on the gate terminal for
continuing the conduction through the device unlike BJT
where there is a continuous supply of base current for
keeping it in saturation.

IGBT has only one directional switch, forward from

collector to emitter. MOSFET is bidirectional.
The working principle of IGBT and MOSFET are the same
but when the current flows through the device and the
conducting channel offers resistance and the device is in
the active state and current supplied is very small in IGBT
whereas in MOSFET the current supply is higher. Thus
the article has been completed and for further
information join the institute of electrical engineering
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