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Silicon Carbide allows for more efficient, smaller, and more capable power conversion systems but getting the most out of these wide-bandgap devices requires intentional selection of everything around the switch. One of the most important parts of the system is the gate driver. The gate drive solution directly impacts the switching efficiency of the SiC MOSFET as well as can have features to make systems more reliable like Miller Clamp and Short Circuit Protection.
From the protection features available on the market today, to the robustness of isolated gate driver solutions, this training will teach about the intricacies of Silicon Carbide needs in gate drivers, the variety of gate drivers available, and the benefits of the various features that gate drivers can provide to the system designer.
During this webinar you will learn:
- Benefits of Silicon Carbide devices in power systems
- Why we need gate drivers for power MOSFETs
- Particulars of driving SiC MOSFETs
- Common Mode Transient Immunity
- Sizing the gate driver power supply and how to implement it
- Why certain gate drive voltages are recommended and application considerations
- Benefits of additional gate driver features for system design
- Miller Clamping
- Short Circuit Protection
- Fault Reporting
- Which gate drivers should be considered depending on the application, including the offering from Analog Devices
- Resources available to design in Silicon Carbide and SiC Gate Drivers
- Date: Wednesday, July 26, 2023
- Time: 9:00 am EDT | 15:00 CET
- Duration: 1 hour
Original – Arrow
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PowerAmerica invites you to our annual Summer Workshop, August 8-10, 2023, on NC State’s Centennial Campus in Raleigh, NC. Expect great networking and presentations on the latest in the business and technology of silicon carbide and gallium nitride power semiconductors and applications.
The workshop includes:
- Keynote remarks by industry leaders
- WBG Tutorials by leading practitioners
- Reports on 10 SiC and GaN PowerAmerica member-funded projects
- Update on SiC and GaN market trends
- Roadmapping future PowerAmerica initiatives
- Commercialization Success Stories
- Ample networking opportunities
Find the agenda and register for the event at PowerAmerica website.
Original – PowerAmerica
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Wolfspeed, Inc. announced that CEO Gregg Lowe has been elected to serve on North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s (N.C. A&T) Board of Trustees. N.C. A&T is the nation’s No. 1-ranked historically black college or university (HBCU).
“North Carolina A&T is proud of our continued strong partnership with Wolfspeed and the appointment of CEO Gregg Lowe to our Board of Trustees,” said N.C. A&T Chancellor Harold L. Martin, Sr. “Gregg’s leadership and extensive science and technology background will serve as a vital resource for our prestigious university. I look forward to working with him as we provide new opportunities for our students to pursue the next generation of careers in the green economy, drive innovation and look to solve the problems of both today and tomorrow.”
“I am excited to join the North Carolina A&T Board of Trustees and to serve their students and community,” said Lowe. “Wolfspeed firmly believes in the power of students to change the world, and I’m eager to further strengthen our relationship while working together to usher in the next generation of scientists, technologists and innovators.”
Wolfspeed and N.C. A&T share a rich history of partnership and collaboration. In 2020, Wolfspeed committed $4 million over five years to the HBCU, the single largest donation in the university’s history at that time, to create the Wolfspeed Endowed Scholars Program.
The two entities worked together to establish comprehensive education and training curricula and cutting-edge research and innovation programs. This partnership has opened opportunities for undergraduate and graduate credentials in silicon carbide semiconductor manufacturing, as well as training and career advancement programs for existing semiconductor manufacturing workers.
During President Biden’s visit to Wolfspeed headquarters earlier this year, Wolfspeed announced the continuation of this collaboration with their intent to apply for CHIPS and Science Act funding to build a new research and development facility on North Carolina A&T’s campus. The R&D facility will be focused on silicon carbide to support the next generation of advanced compound semiconductors.
Original – Wolfspeed
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In static switching applications, power designs focus on minimizing conduction losses, optimizing thermal behavior, and achieving compact and lightweight systems while ensuring high quality at a low cost. To meet the needs of next-generation solutions, Infineon Technologies AG is expanding its CoolMOS™ S7 family of high-voltage superjunction (SJ) MOSFETs.
The devices are aiming at SMPS, solar energy systems, battery protection, solid-state relays (SSR), motor-starters and solid-state circuit breakers, as well as PLCs, lighting control, HV eFuse/eDisconnect, (H)EV on-board chargers.
The portfolio extension includes innovative QDPAK top-side cooling (TSC) packages and offers a wide range of features in a small footprint. This makes it highly advantageous for low-frequency switching applications while optimizing cost positioning.
Thanks to the novel high-power QDPAK packaging, they offer an R DS(on) of only 10 mΩ, which is the lowest on the market in this voltage class and the lowest in SMD packages. By minimizing conduction losses of the MOSFETs, the CoolMOS S7/S7A solutions contribute to higher overall efficiency and provide an easy and cost-optimized way to improve system performance.
The CoolMOS S7 power switches also effectively manage heat dissipation with improved thermal resistance. Thanks to the innovative and efficient QDPAK packaging, they also reduce or even eliminate the need for heat sinks in solid-state designs, resulting in more compact and lighter systems.
The MOSFETs are available in both top-side and bottom-side variants, and feature high-pulse current capability, enabling them to handle sudden surges of current. In addition, they exhibit body diode robustness to ensure reliable operation during AC line commutation.
With fewer components required, they reduce part count, resulting in flexible system integration, lower BOM costs, and total cost of ownership (TCO). In addition, these MOSFETs enable shorter reaction times, particularly when breaking a current, facilitating smoother and more efficient operation.
Original – Infineon Technologies
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Vitesco Technologies has honored the exemplary performance of six of its around 17,000 suppliers worldwide. The awards were presented to suppliers of production and non-production materials for the 2022 fiscal year.
The award ceremony took place at the Sorat Hotel in Regensburg on July 20, 2023. Andreas Wolf, CEO of Vitesco Technologies, and Peter Reidegeld, head of Purchasing & Supplier Quality Management, presented the awards to the representatives of the international suppliers. This was the second Supplier of the Year award ceremony at Vitesco Technologies, after the award was presented for the first time last year.
Winners of the 2022 Supplier of the Year award
The Supplier of the Year award is divided into four categories: in addition to the categories Passionate, Partnering and Pioneering – reflecting the corporate values of Vitesco Technologies – the manufacturer of sustainable drive solutions also presents a quality award for special achievements in product and supply chain quality.
- Passionate:
Mansfield Group from Dongguan City, PR China (stamped parts)
- Partnering:
ASIMCO Sealing Technologies from Nanjing, PR China (customized rubber seals)
ROHM from Kyoto, Japan (semiconductors)
- Pioneering:
Ningbo Yunsheng from Ningbo, PR China (magnets)
STX Group from Amsterdam, Netherlands (sustainability certificates)
- Quality award:
TDK Electronics from Munich, Germany (sensors)
Original – Vitesco Technologies
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Power semiconductors companies continue to invest heavily in new factories, production capacity expansions, and R&D centers. Thus, recently the total value of the active investment projects launched since 2021 has surpassed 70 billion USD.
Driven by the pandemic and geopolitics, major power semiconductors companies started to invest more in new factories and joint ventures to have more confidence in their own supply chain in the future.
As of today, it is obvious to see the major split of power semiconductors into three geographical regions – the USA, Europe, and Asia. Asia may as well be divided into several regions with China being the leading investor of all.
Despite the ongoing tensions and export restrictions between the US, Europe, and China related to advanced semiconductors, when it comes to power semiconductors European companies continue to invest in the Chinese market expanding their product capacity or establishing new joint ventures like STMicroelectronics and Sanan Optoelectronics did recently.
Even with some delay, Japanese companies like ROHM, Mitsubishi Electric, Fuji Electric, Renesas Electronics, Toshiba, and others, pushed by their US and European competitors, announced their own projects aimed to secure the capacity on the wafer and device level to correspond to the growing demand for Si and SiC based power semiconductors coming from the electric vehicle and charging, photovoltaics, battery energy storage systems, and the other emerging applications.
If we take a closer look at all projects announced, SiC is the leading technology with over 60% of total investment. Over 25 market leaders announced their plans to invest in silicon carbide.
Thus, ROHM is investing in new production to multiply its SiC capacity in the coming years. Mitsubishi Electric teams up with Coherent to scale manufacturing of SiC power devices on a 200 mm SiC technology platform as one of the steps of their 260 billion yen investment project planned till March 2026.
Infineon Technologies continues to bet on both local European and Asian markets investing in their new fab in Dresden and expanding backend operations in Indonesia. STMicroelectronics continues to invest in WBG semiconductors with the ongoing construction of a new wafer fab in Sicily announced in 2022.
With a global total number of new investment projects of over 80, the US companies Wolfspeed, onsemi, and Microchip Technology, similar to their European counterparts, invest locally, in Europe and Asian markets. Totally the US semiconductor companies announced new projects valued at almost 9 billion USD.
With the US and EU Chips Acts, and similar initiatives in China, Japan, South Korea, and some other countries, it is clear that the investment into power semiconductors industry will continue to reach 100 billion USD soon.
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Wolfspeed, Inc. announced the promotion of Priya Almelkar to Senior Vice President, IT and Chief Information Officer. Almelkar succeeds David Costar and becomes the fifth female member of Wolfspeed’s esteemed senior leadership team.
“Over her two-and-a-half-year tenure with Wolfspeed, Priya has consistently showcased exceptional technical expertise and inspiring leadership skills,” said Gregg Lowe, CEO of Wolfspeed. “Her invaluable contributions have significantly enhanced our company’s information systems and processes. Her promotion not only recognizes her skills and contributions, but also reinforces our belief in the power of diverse perspectives and experiences in driving innovation and success. I am eager to witness the advancements she will spearhead in her new role.”
As Vice President of IT Manufacturing Operations, Almelkar played a pivotal role in driving Wolfspeed’s transition to automation, empowering the company’s analytics capabilities while ensuring data integrity and accuracy. This data-based transition has enabled enhanced tracking of customer deliveries, valuable market and competitor insights, and has improved operational efficiency.
“Wolfspeed’s ambitious growth strategy presents ample opportunities to improve IT process efficiency and compliance,” said Almelkar. “I am thrilled to continue collaborating with such knowledgeable and entrepreneurial colleagues to strengthen our digital footprint and advance our mission of energy conservation through silicon carbide.”
With over 25 years of experience in leading core IT functions and implementing large-scale digital transformations, Almelkar brings a wealth of expertise to her role. Prior to joining Wolfspeed, she spent six years at Global Foundries, where she held several positions, including Head of Digital Transformation and Head of Infrastructure.
Earlier in her career, she excelled in program management, information security and solution delivery engineering. Almelkar is also proud to serve as a sponsor of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Employee Resource Group at Wolfspeed, exemplifying the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. In acknowledgement of her leadership and service to the industry, she has been recognized by the National Association of Manufacturers.
Original – Wolfspeed
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As digitalization, urbanization, and the rise of electro-mobility continue to shape the rapidly evolving world, the demand for power consumption is reaching unprecedented levels. Acknowledging energy efficiency as an important concern, Infineon Technologies AG addresses these megatrends with its silicon carbide (SiC) CoolSiC™ MOSFET 650 V in TO leadless (TOLL) packaging. The new SiC MOSFETs are enhancing Infineon’s comprehensive CoolSiC portfolio and are optimized for the lowest losses, the highest reliability, and ease-of-use in applications such as SMPS for servers, telecom infrastructure as well as energy storage systems and battery formation solutions.
The CoolSiC 650 V high-performance trench-based power SiC MOSFETs are offered in a very granular portfolio to best suit different target applications. The new family comes in a JEDEC-qualified TOLL package featuring a low parasitic inductance, allowing for higher switching frequency, reduced switching losses, good thermal management, and automated assembly. The compact form factor enables efficient and effective usage of the board space, empowering system designers to achieve exceptional power density.
The CoolSiC MOSFETs 650 V showcase remarkable reliability even in harsh environments, making them an ideal choice for topologies with repetitive hard commutation. The inclusion of the innovative .XT interconnect technology further enhances the devices’ thermal performance by reducing the thermal resistance (R th) and thermal impedance (Z th). In addition, the new devices feature a gate threshold voltage (V GS(th)) greater than 4 V for robustness against parasitic turn-on, a robust body diode, and the strongest gate oxide (GOX) in the market resulting in extremely low FIT (failures in time) rates.
While a cut-off voltage (V GS(off)) of 0 V is generally recommended to simplify the driving circuit (unipolar driving), the new portfolio supports a wide driving interval of V GS voltage within the range of -5 V (turn-off) to 23 V (turn-on). This ensures ease-of-use and compatibility with other SiC MOSFETs and standard MOSFET gate-driver ICs. This is paired with higher reliability, reduced system complexity, and the enablement of automated assembly, reducing system and production costs and accelerating time-to-market.
Original – Infineon Technologies
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NoMIS Power has achieved its latest major milestone with an award from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to develop rugged Silicon Carbide (SiC) power devices to support the electrical power systems of aircraft.
NoMIS Power will develop 1200 V SiC power semiconductor devices (PSDs) through the award. The focus will be on metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) with enhanced operational lifetime as well as improved on-state and off-state efficiency at operating temperatures, resulting in lower losses for power electronics engineers to manage.
Solid-state power controllers within aircraft electrical power distribution systems require low on-state losses to enable passive cooling, as well as surge current and voltage overshoot protection during system start-up and fault interrupt. The proposed 1200 V SiC MOSFETs from NoMIS Power will provide airframers and system builders/integrators with the necessary PSD chips capable of high efficiency, long short-circuit withstand time (SCWT), and operational ruggedness for nominal and transient conditions. Moreover, the 1200 V rating will not only support current-generation aircraft utilizing 270 VDC architecture, but also aircraft operating with a +/- 270 VDC (i.e. 540 VDC rail-to-rail) architecture, as well.
NoMIS Power overcomes the limitations of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) Si and SiC-based PSDs via a novel SiC device design that is achievable using disruptive manufacturing techniques. As a result, NoMIS SiC devices can withstand higher voltage spikes and current surges during harsh operating conditions, enabling longer power management product lifetime through superior reliability and ruggedness.
Announcing the new award, NoMIS Power CEO Dr. Adam Morgan said, “Our team is very excited to get the opportunity to support strategic groups working to improve the capabilities of our armed forces. We are confident this novel SiC device technology will also have a significant impact on other critical technology markets, such as electric vehicles and grid infrastructure. These efforts will directly support our company’s near-term product launch of next-generation SiC devices.”
Original – NoMIS Power
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Semiconductors are the linchpin to the performance, safety, and customer features of Stellantis vehicles today and in the new state-of-the-art, BEV-centric STLA vehicle and technology platforms arriving soon. As the auto industry’s demand for semiconductors accelerates, Stellantis is implementing a multifaceted strategy designed to manage and secure the long-term supply of vital microchips. Developed by a cross-functional team, the strategy was created through a rigorous assessment of customer desires for advanced technology features and a keen focus on delivering the objectives laid out in the Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 plan.
The robust strategy, which is refined continuously, includes:
- implementation of a semiconductor database to provide full transparency on the semiconductor content;
- systematic risk assessment to avoid and proactively remove legacy parts;
- long-term chip level demand forecasting to support capacity securitization agreements with chip makers and Silicon Foundries;
- implementation and enforcement of a Green List to reduce chip diversity and – in case of future chip shortages – to put Stellantis in control of the allocation; and,
- the purchasing of mission-critical parts at chip makers including a long-term securitization of chip supply.
Stellantis has started to engage with strategic semiconductor providers like Infineon, NXP® Semiconductors, onsemi, and Qualcomm to further improve its all-new, state-of-the-art STLA platforms and technologies. In addition, Stellantis is working with aiMotive and SiliconAuto to develop its own differentiating semiconductors in the future.
“An effective semiconductor strategy requires a deep understanding of semiconductors and the semiconductor industry,” said Maxime Picat, Chief Purchasing and Supply Chain Officer at Stellantis. “We have hundreds of very different semiconductors in our cars.
We have built a comprehensive ecosystem to mitigate the risk that one missing chip can stop our lines. At the same time, key vehicle capabilities directly depend on the innovation and performance of single devices. SiC MOSFETS extend the range of our electric vehicles while the computation performance of a leading-edge SoC is essential for the customer experience and safety.”
To date, Stellantis has entered into direct agreements for semiconductors with a purchasing value of more than €10 billion through 2030. The supply agreements cover a variety of vital microchips, including:
- Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFETS, which are fundamental to the range of EVs.
- Microcontroller Unit (MCU), a key part of the computing zones for the STLA Brain electrical architecture.
- System-on-a-chip (SoC), where performance is essential for the high-performance computing (HPC) units that deliver the in-vehicle infotainment and autonomous driving assist functions.
Semiconductors play key roles in the vehicles that are driving the Stellantis transformation into a sustainable mobility tech company, as outlined in Dare Forward 2030. This includes enabling features and functions in the BEV-native STLA global platforms (Small/Medium/Large/Frame) and the seamless connectivity, remote upgradability, and the flexible service-oriented electrical/electronic architecture that underpins the STLA Brain, STLA SmartCockpit, and STLA AutoDrive artificial intelligence-powered platforms.
Original – Stellantis
