News: Microelectronics
12 May 2022
EV car maker NIO selects onsemi’s silicon carbide traction power modules
Power semiconductor IC supplier onsemi of Phoenix, AZ, USA says that China-based car maker NIO Inc has chosen its latest VE-Trac Direct SiC power modules for its next-generation electric vehicles (EVs). The silicon carbide (SiC)-based power modules enable longer range, higher efficiency and faster acceleration for EVs.
The VE-Trac Direct SiC is an integrated single side direct cooling (SSDC) power module in a six-pack configuration with a low turn-on resistance of 1.7mΩ. This platform implements onsemi’s second-generation SiC MOSFET technology to achieve higher performance, efficiency and quality while sharing a compatible package footprint with its insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) predecessor. An integrated pin fin baseplate enables direct liquid cooling and easy assembly, which allows maximum power output and more efficient thermal dissipation.
Picture: VE-Trac Direct SiC traction power module.
“From all the solutions we considered, the VE-Trac Direct SiC traction power modules offered the best efficiency during testing, allowing us to extend our New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) range by 4% compared to the current silicon solution,” comments Alan S. Zeng, senior VP at NIO. “onsemi convinced us with the high performance and reliability of its products as well as the excellent support from its engineering and management team,” he adds. “We look forward to collaborating with onsemi on bringing more innovative EVs to market for generations to come.”
The VE-Trac offerings, including the previously introduced VE-Trac Dual and VE-Trac Direct platforms, are available in silicon-based IGBT and in SiC with various voltages, and for traction inverter powers ranging from 100kW to 250kW. With its standardized mechanical footprints and expanded power ratings, the VE-Trac product family is designed to scale EV power outputs, accelerating the adoption of hybrid and battery EVs (BEV).
“This design collaboration is the culmination of substantial efforts onsemi has put into developing the right technologies for emerging applications such as smart EVs,” says Simon Keeton, executive VP & general manager of Power Solutions Group at onsemi. “onsemi is the only supplier of silicon carbide solutions with vertical integration capability including SiC boule growth, substrate, epitaxy, device fabrication, best-in-class integrated modules and discrete package solutions,” he claims. “We are rapidly expanding our SiC capacity and are uniquely positioned to address the growing EV market with supply assurance, performance, quality and tailored SiC end solutions.”
onsemi showcased its intelligent power and sensing solutions, including VE-Trac platforms, at Power, Control and Intelligent Motion (PCIM) Europe 2022 in Nuremberg, Germany (10-12 May).
