4. Conclusion

The need for energy efficiency and the miniaturization of power electronic converters require higher switching frequencies and low-loss components. Depending on the field of application and the power required, silicon components will continue to be indispensable for a long time to come, but new components are emerging (high-voltage trench IGBTs, MOSFETs with very low voltage withstand and components with large-gap semiconductor materials) with specific control features, notably linked to appropriate packaging, enabling us to make the most of their potential.

This article describes the specific features of power semiconductor components with a view to their control. It describes these characteristics successively for thyristors and triacs, bipolar transistors (BJTs) and GTOs and GCTs, and finally for gate components (MOSFETs, IGBTs and HEMTs). It also reports on...