News: Microelectronics
30 November 2023
Nexperia launches discrete 1200 V devices as its first silicon carbide MOSFETs
Discrete device designer and manufacturer Nexperia B.V. of Nijmegen, The Netherlands (a subsidiary of Wingtech Technology Co Ltd) has announced its first silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs with the release of two 1200V discrete devices in 3-pin TO-247 packaging with RDS(on) values of 40mΩ and 80mΩ. The NSF040120L3A0 and NSF080120L3A0 are the first in a series of planned launches that will see Nexperia’s SiC MOSFET portfolio quickly expand to include devices with a variety of RDS(on) values in a choice of through-hole and surface-mounted packages. This release addresses the market demand for the increased availability of high-performance SiC MOSFETs in industrial applications including electric vehicle (EV) charging piles, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and inverters for solar and energy storage systems (ESS).
“With these inaugural products, Nexperia and Mitsubishi Electric wanted to bring true innovation to a market that has been crying out for more wide-bandgap device suppliers,” says Katrin Feurle, senior director & head of Product Group SiC at Nexperia. “Nexperia can now offer SiC MOSFET devices which offer best-in-class performance across several parameters, including high RDS(on) temperature stability, low body diode voltage drop, tight threshold voltage specification as well as a very well-balanced gate charge ratio making the device safe against parasitic turn-on. This is the opening chapter in our commitment to producing the highest-quality SiC MOSFETs in our partnership with Mitsubishi Electric,” he adds.
“Together with Nexperia, we’re thrilled to introduce these new SiC MOSFETs as the first product of our partnership,” comments Toru Iwagami, senior general manager, Power Device Works, Semiconductor & Device Group at Mitsubishi Electric. “Mitsubishi Electric has accumulated superior expertise of SiC power semiconductors, and our devices deliver a unique balance of characteristics,” he claims.
For SiC MOSFETs, RDS(on) impacts conduction power losses. Nexperia says that it identified this as a limiting factor in the performance of many currently available SiC devices and used its process technology to ensure that its new SiC MOSFETs offer industry-leading temperature stability, with the nominal value of RDS(on) increasing by only 38% over an operating temperature range from 25°C to 175°C, unlike other many currently available SiC devices on the market, Nexperia claims.
The firm says that its SiC MOSFETs also exhibit very low total gate charge (QG), which brings the advantage of lower gate drive losses. Furthermore, Nexperia balanced gate charge to have a low ratio of QGD to QGS, which increases device immunity against parasitic turn-on.
Together with the positive temperature coefficient of SiC MOSFETs, Nexperia says that its SiC MOSFETs also offer ultra-low spread in device-to device threshold voltage, VGS(th), which allows very well-balanced current-carrying performance under static and dynamic conditions when devices are operated in parallel. Furthermore, low body diode forward voltage (VSD) is a parameter that increases device robustness and efficiency while also relaxing the dead-time requirement for asynchronous rectification and free wheel operation.
The NSF040120L3A0 and NSF080120L3A0 are available in production quantities now. Nexperia is also planning the future release of automotive-grade MOSFETs.
Mitsubishi Electric and Nexperia to co-develop SiC power semiconductors
Nexperia and KYOCERA AVX Salzburg to co-produce 650V SiC rectifier module for power applications
Nexperia expands wide-bandgap range by entering high-power silicon carbide diode market
