Activities

Power devices control the efficient use of electricity and are installed in a variety of products from home electronics to industrial machinery. With rising demand for technologies that improve energy efficiency and conservation, it is becoming increasingly important to improve the performance of power devices.

As such, Mitsubishi Electric is aiming to expand its power device business to achieve net sales of 150 billion yen and reduce emissions by the equivalent of 4 million tons of CO₂ in fiscal 2016.

Focusing on Market Share Overseas and R&D for New Power Devices

In fiscal 2010, Mitsubishi Electric implemented measures to expand market share in the current mainstream IGBT¹ and IPM² segments. We also developed new products, such as the IGBT NX Series for industrial machinery and the HVIPM³ "R Series" for railway applications, both of which improve on earlier products' ease of use, performance stability, and energy efficiency. In sales, we are developing markets and expanding sales in Europe and China through the local dispatch of engineers to provide applied technology support and systems solutions. In manufacturing, we have set up a production infrastructure tailored to the creation of new products, while increasing production capacity to meet growth in demand.

Toward Full SiC Inverter Commercialization

Mitsubishi Electric is also focusing on the development of next-generation power devices. In particular, we are accelerating the development of silicon carbide (SiC) power modules that are expected to greatly reduce power loss, with the aim of commercializing the technology as soon as feasible.

In fiscal 2010, using a prototype 20kW full SiC inverter (see figure below), we have to achieved a 90% reduction⁴ in power loss compared to conventional silicon (Si) inverters. In addition, we developed a hybrid power module consisting of SiC-SBD and Si-IGBT, and succeeded in driving a 300kW passenger railcar drive motor for the first time.

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Looking ahead, we will continue to advance device performance and efficiency in the pursuit of the commercialization of products that use SiC.

1

Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor. A power device widely used in control circuits, mainly in industrial inverters and control circuit for motors.

2

IPM: Intelligent Power Module. A type of module that incorporates a power device.

3

HVIPM: High Voltage Intelligent Power Module.

4

90% power loss reduction: At 20 kW output and 20 kHz drive frequency.