Power electronics

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This article refers to the technology of power electronics. For the musical genre see power electronics

Power electronics is the technology associated with the efficient conversion, control and conditioning of electric power by static means from its available input form into the desired electrical output form.

1 Introduction
2 Principle
3 Applications
4 References

[edit] Introduction

Power electronic converters can be found wherever there is a need to modify the electrical energy form (i.e modifiy its voltage, current or frequency). Therefore, their power range from some milliwatts (as in a mobile phone) to several megawatts (e.g to supply power to a train). With "classical" electronics, electrical currents and voltage are used to carry information, whereas with power electronics, they carry power. Therefore the main metric of power electronics becomes the efficiency.

Nowadays, the conversion is performed with semiconductor switching devices such as diodes, thyristors and transistors. In contrast to electronic systems concerned with transmission and processing of signals and data, in power electronics substantial amounts of electrical energy are processed. An AC/DC converter (rectifier) is the most typical power electronics device found in many consumer electronic devices, e.g., television sets, personal computers, battery chargers, etc. The power range is typically from tens of watts to several hundred watts. In industry the most common application is the variable speed drive (VSD) that is used to control an induction motor. The power range of VSDs start from a few hundred watts and end at several megawatts.

The power conversion systems can be classified according to the type of the input and output power

AC to DC (rectification)
DC to AC (inversion)
DC to DC (conversion)
AC to AC (conversion)

[edit] Principle

As efficiency is at a premium in a power electronic converter, the losses that a power electronic device generates should be as low as possible. The instantaneous dissipated power of a device is equal to the product of the voltage across the device and the current through it ( $P=U\times I$ ). From this, one can see that the losses of a power device are at a minimum when the voltage across it is zero (the device is in the On-State) or when no current flows through it (Off-State). Therefore, a power electronic converter is built around one (or more) device operating in switching mode (either On or Off). With such a structure, the energy is transferred from the input of the converter to its output by bursts.

[edit] Applications

Power electronic systems are virtually in every electronic device. For example, around us:

DC/DC converters are used in most mobile devices (mobile phone, pda...) to maintain the voltage at a fixed value whatever the charge level of the battery is. They are also used every time a voltage goes from "low" to "high" (0 to 1) or vice versa. It is basically the hardware component of digital technology. They are also used for electronic isolation and to correct the power factor.