From dipoles to switchgear

The purpose of power electronics is to exchange energy between at least two electrical systems. To this end, it converts electrical energy by making the characteristics (voltage, current and frequency) of these two systems compatible, and (generally) controls this exchange of energy. It is therefore a discipline that corresponds to the processing of electrical energy (combining the "conversion" and "control" aspects). The electrical devices that perform these functions are known generically as static converters (CVS).

Since they are designed to process energy, these devices must be subject to the lowest possible losses, for obvious reasons of efficiency, but also to minimize the weight and cost of the devices used to evacuate these losses. To achieve this, CVSs use components acting as electronic switches (on or off) based on a chopping principle (as opposed to the linear amplification principle), complemented by passive filter circuits.

In this first dossier, we take the case of energy exchange between two dipoles. This simple case effectively introduces all the basic principles –– of power electronics.