New intelligent power module for electric vehicles

A new intelligent power module (IPM) of 450 A, 600 V has been developed. There are three major aspects in IPM development: IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) device technology, packaging technology, and intelligent driver and protection circuits technology. The IGBT device has low power loss and high switching speed. The packaging has a smart housing with special easy-to-use connectors and high density mounting. The developed circuits constitute a three phase inverter bridge, driver and three protection functions (short-circuit, over-temperature, and control supply under-voltage lock) in addition to a serially-coded fault output function. Furthermore, reliability and cost are important factors for electric vehicles. This paper describes the structure and the superior electric characteristics of the new IPM.