Insulated gate bipolar transistor reliability testing protocol for PV inverter applications

ABSTRACT To decrease the cost of ownership of photovoltaic systems, less costly and more reliable photovoltaic inverters must be developed. Insulated gate bipolar transistors are a significant cause of inverter failures and system inefficiencies, so a thorough understanding of their strengths and we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Progress in photovoltaics 2014-09, Vol.22 (9), p.970-983
Main Authors: Flicker, Jack, Kaplar, Robert, Yang, Benjamin, Marinella, Matthew, Granata, Jennifer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
BOS
Energy
Equipments, installations and applications
Exact sciences and technology
IGBT
Natural energy
photovoltaic
Photovoltaic cells
Photovoltaic conversion
power electronics
reliability
Solar energy
transistors
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Summary:ABSTRACT To decrease the cost of ownership of photovoltaic systems, less costly and more reliable photovoltaic inverters must be developed. Insulated gate bipolar transistors are a significant cause of inverter failures and system inefficiencies, so a thorough understanding of their strengths and weaknesses with regards to inverters is necessary. This paper summarizes the current state of experimentation surrounding the use of IGBTs in photovoltaic inverters and discusses their construction, use, lifetime, and reliability of IGBTs regularly used in photovoltaic inverters. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. To decrease cost of ownership of photovoltaic systems, less costly and more reliable photovoltaic inverters must be developed. Insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) are a significant cause of inverter failures and system inefficiencies, so a thorough understanding of their strengths and weaknesses with regards to inverters is necessary. This paper summarizes the current state of experimentation surrounding the use of IGBTs in photovoltaic inverters and discusses the construction, use, lifetime, and reliability of IGBTs regularly used in photovoltaic inverters.
ISSN:1062-7995
1099-159X
DOI:10.1002/pip.2351