Recent progress in insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) development is reviewed. Highlighted issues range from technological aspects such as special processes suitable for thin-wafer-processing, through the advanced cell and vertical concepts to approaches for improved IGBT ruggedness. Latest advancements regarding thermal management in both modules and discrete chips are also addressed. (a) Turn-off transients of a 15 A-1200 V-IGBT with an FS layer created by a threestage proton implantation (T = 125°C), (b) Maximum DC-link voltage V DC,max at which the IGBT can be turned off softly