Power electronics equipment for rolling stock using IEGTs and IGBTs

摘要

Efforts are being made to improve riding comfort and energy saving by adopting the latest power electronics technologies in equipment applied to rolling stock for the Shinkansen ("Bullet Train"), which represents rapid-transit railways, as well as existing railway lines and subways that support urban transportation. In recent years, greater comfort and lighter weight have been realized compared with previous equipment by developing a series of products; namely, three-level conversion equipment utilizing insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), and two-level conversion equipment utilizing high-withstand-voltage IGBTs. In the midst of this trend, Toshiba has developed conversion equipment for the Shinkansen applying the Injection Enhanced Gate Transistor (IEGT), which is a power semiconductor with higher withstand voltage than the IGBT and lower loss than the gate turn-off thyristor (GTO). Moreover, for direct-current electric railway substations, Toshiba has developed a rectifier with an eco-friendly heat-pipe cooling system using water as a coolant.