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27 February 2018
Microsemi samples new 1200V SiC MOSFETs and SiC SBDs for industrial and automotive markets
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Microsemi Corp of Aliso Viejo, CA, USA (which makes chips for aerospace & defense, communications, data-center and industrial markets) has announced sampling availability of the 40mΩ MSC040SMA120B, the first product in its next-generation 1200V silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET range. The firm has also launched its complementary 1200V SiC Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs), further expanding its growing portfolios of SiC discretes and modules.
The new SiC MOSFET product family is highly avalanche-rated, demonstrating the devices’ ruggedness for industrial, automotive and commercial aviation power applications, and offers a high short-circuit withstand rating for robust operation. Additional members of the product family will be released in the coming months, including commercially and AEC-Q101-qualified 700V and 1200V SiC MOSFETs to address a wide range of power applications that can leverage Microsemi’s new SiC SBDs.
The new SiC MOSFET product family provides more efficient switching and high reliability, particularly in comparison to silicon diodes, silicon MOSFETs and insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) solutions, says Leon Gross, VP & business unit manager for Microsemi's Power Discretes and Modules business unit. “Customers focused on developing cost-effective power electronics solutions for rugged environments can select their ideal solutions from these next-generation offerings, with the ability to scale to their specific SiC MOSFET needs.”
The next-generation SiC MOSFETs and new SiC SBDs are designed with high repetitive unclamped inductive switching (UIS) capability at rated current, with no degradation or failures. The new SiC MOSFETs maintain high UIS capability at 10-15J/cm2 and robust short circuit protection at 3-5μs. The firm’s SiC SBDs are designed with balanced surge current, forward voltage, thermal resistance and thermal capacitance ratings at low reverse current for lower switching loss. In addition, its SiC MOSFET and SiC SBD die can be paired together for use in modules.
Microsemi says that its new SiC MOSFETs and SBDs are suitable for a wide range of applications in the industrial and automotive markets, and that its SiC MOSFETs can also be used in switch-mode power supply (SMPS) and motor control applications in the medical, aerospace, defense and data-center markets. Examples include hybrid electric vehicle (HEV)/EV charging, conductive/inductive onboard charging (OBC), DC-DC converters, EV powertrain/tractional control, switch-mode power supply, photovoltaic (PV) inverters, motor control and actuation for aviation.
According to research and consulting firm IndustryARC, wide-bandgap semiconductor technologies, namely SiC-based devices, are likely to shift from the development to commercial phase due to growth in power electronics applications to enhance power conversion efficiency and minimize power losses. The advance in power conversion paves the way for SiC-based devices in EV charging, which helps to reduce battery charging cycles as well the high cost of battery packs. Integration of SiC devices in on-board charging and DC-to-DC power conversion systems enables higher switching frequency and lower losses. IndustryARC expects the SiC market in EV charging to see a growth rate of about 33% until 2024.
Microsemi says that its SiC MOSFETs offer 10 times lower failure-in-time (FIT) rate than comparable silicon IGBTs at rated voltages with regard to neutron susceptibility. The firm’s SiC SBDs complement the robustness of its SiC MOSFETs, with UIS ratings 20% higher than competitor parts tested, it is reckoned. The firm claims that its SiC products offer other advantages including improved system efficiency, with 25-50% power output increases for the same physical dimensions, efficiency at higher switching frequencies over IGBTs, reduced system size and weight, operating stability over temperature (+175°C) and significant cooling cost savings.
The MSC040SMA120B is sampling now, and the complementary SiC SBDs are available in full production.
The devices and corresponding SiC gate driver solutions are being showcased in the Richardson RFPD booth #1147 at the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC 2018) in San Antonio, Texas (4-8 March).
Microsemi launches 1200V SiC MOSFETs for high-voltage industrial applications
Microsemi SiC MOSFET SiC Schottky barrier diodes
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