Application of Electrical Circuit Simulations in Hybrid Vehicle Development

This paper describes the application of electrical circuit simulations in intelligent power module development for hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles. The limitations of the conventional design and simulation systems are discussed, and efforts for overcoming these limitations are described. The introduction of a physics-based insulated-gate-bipolar-transistor model with a surface-potential MOSFET core into the design flow is described. Finally, future expectations for necessary simulation technology development are given.