An Open-Source Transistor Database and Toolbox as a Unified Software Engineering Tool for Managing and Evaluating Power Transistors

Abstract

To develop highly efficient converters, the selection of suitable power transistors for a specific application is one of the most crucial tasks in the development of power electronics. Diverse, non-standardized PDF datasheets make it difficult to compare transistors and parameterize them adequately in a simulation program. Overall, this is a very time-consuming task. To introduce a standardized framework for digitizing, comparing and exporting transistor data, this paper proposes an open-source transistor toolbox where transistor datasheets can be imported in a guided, standardized object-orientated format. The imported transistor data is stored in a central database offering the possibility to add further measurement data (such as double-pulse switching loss measurements) to the transistor object. For versatile usabilit, the data can be exported to common development tools (Matlab/Octave, PLECS, Simulink, GeckoCIRCUITS). Finally, a built-in comparison tool offers an easy and quick method to benchmark power transistors.