Power electronics and its applications to industry and society

Abstract

Power electronics, the basic technology for electric power conversion and control, has achieved great progress utilizing the advanced power semiconductor devices such as thyristor, GTO, IGBT and IPM. The application areas of power electronics are very wide from power utility systems and uninterruptible power sources to express train drives and robot arm drives. Combined with the progress of advanced control theories and microprocessors, power electronics has been playing an indispensable role in our society.