High Currents Under Control Compact Vehicle Power ... - Semikron
High Currents Under Control Compact Vehicle Power ... - Semikron
High Currents Under Control Compact Vehicle Power ... - Semikron
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COVER STORY<br />
<strong>High</strong> <strong>Currents</strong> <strong>Under</strong> <strong>Control</strong><br />
<strong>Compact</strong> <strong>Vehicle</strong> <strong>Power</strong> Systems<br />
Users of power control equipment have used third-party systems for many years, because<br />
they offer the benefits of reduced development costs, shorter time to market and ease of<br />
meeting qualification standards. As specifications have become more demanding, it has<br />
become necessary to use higher levels of integration, with much tighter control of all the<br />
elements in the system.<br />
By Paul Newman, Managing Director, <strong>Semikron</strong> UK Ltd<br />
To meet the requirements for the broad automotive electronics market<br />
– ranging from fork-lift trucks, to hybrid and electric vehicles, to<br />
large agricultural and construction vehicles – <strong>Semikron</strong> has established<br />
its Systems Group, to bring all the necessary expertise into<br />
one organisation. The Group works closely with customers to develop<br />
power systems, which are then marketed under the SKAI brand.<br />
The second generation of fully integrated and tested SKAI systems<br />
are now available.<br />
The Systems Group has been formed to build on <strong>Semikron</strong>’s many<br />
years of experience in these markets. The company has offered integrated<br />
power electronics to its customers for almost 20 years. Initially<br />
just combining power silicon and drivers in custom-designed enclosures,<br />
these have evolved to become more highly integrated, now<br />
including control electronics designed to be ready to accept software<br />
to produce a complete system.<br />
The SKAI vehicle power systems boast a high level of integration and<br />
offer major advantages over comparable competitor systems. They<br />
are developed in line with the latest automotive standards and system<br />
qualification standards, allowing short time-to-market and lower<br />
development costs. The SKAI systems are supplied as standard platforms<br />
with low-voltage MOSFETS or high-voltage IGBTs as the silicon<br />
base. SKAI systems can also be developed to meet individual<br />
customer specifications. <strong>Semikron</strong> is a single-source supplier,<br />
encompassing everything from feasibility and proof-of-principle studies,<br />
to the development of optimum system architecture, to electrical<br />
and mechanical simulations, end qualification and complete-system<br />
series production.<br />
Aux. power<br />
CAN comm., external I/O<br />
Enclosure IP67<br />
One system, three types<br />
The high-voltage SKAI 2 is available as a water-cooled 600/1200V<br />
IGBT inverter system, and has been optimised for use in applications<br />
such as full-electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars and electric buses. This<br />
system is based on the established sintered, 100% solder-free<br />
SKiM93 IGBT modules, features a polypropylene film DC-link capacitor,<br />
driver electronics, a latest-generation DSP controller, EMC filters,<br />
and current, voltage and temperature sensors, and is supplied in an<br />
IP67 module case. Communication with the vehicle master controller<br />
is via a CAN bus. These systems are designed for outputs of up to<br />
150kW (Figures 1 and 2).<br />
Figure 2: The high-voltage SKAI system is available as a liquidcooled<br />
600/1200V IGBT inverter system, and has been optimised for<br />
use in applications such as full-electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars and<br />
electric buses.<br />
DSP controller<br />
<strong>Power</strong> supply<br />
Gate driver<br />
Protection<br />
<strong>Power</strong><br />
input<br />
terminals<br />
DC-link<br />
capacitor<br />
V<br />
<strong>Power</strong> section<br />
• 3-phase IGBT inverter single/dual<br />
• 3-phase MOSFET inverter single/dual<br />
T<br />
I<br />
I<br />
• DC-DC converter<br />
I<br />
• Battery charger<br />
• Sensors I/T<br />
• EMI filter<br />
Current<br />
Voltage<br />
Temperature<br />
<strong>Power</strong><br />
output<br />
terminals<br />
Heat sink<br />
(Water inlet)<br />
(Water outlet)<br />
Figure 1: A typical SKAI system architecture<br />
Figure 3: The low-voltage version is available as an air-cooled or liquid-cooled<br />
50/100/150/200V MOSFETsingle and dual inverter system,<br />
which is used in material handling and smaller vehicles.<br />
20 Bodo´s <strong>Power</strong> Systems ® September 2010 www.bodospower.com