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Qorvo® announced the release of QSPICE™, a new generation of circuit simulation software that provides power and analog designers significantly higher levels of design productivity through improved simulation speed, functionality and reliability.
In addition to advancing the state of the art in analog simulation technology, QSPICE allows designers to simulate complex digital circuits and algorithms. Its unique combination of modern schematic capture and fast mixed-mode simulation make it the ideal tool to solve the increasingly complex hardware and software challenges faced by today’s system designers.
“QSPICE enables an entirely new generation of mixed-mode circuit simulation,” said Jeff Strang, general manager for Qorvo’s Power Management business. “In the past, power designers relied on analog circuits and silicon power switches. Today, digital control and compound semiconductors are common elements of advanced power designs. Whether an engineer is developing AI algorithms for EV battery charging, optimizing a Qorvo pulsed-radar power supply or evaluating the newest silicon carbide FETs, QSPICE is the perfect platform for innovation.”
Qorvo’s QSPICE is available free of charge and offers numerous enhancements over legacy analog modeling tools. These improvements include:
- Complete support for advanced analog and digital system simulations, such as those used in AI and machine-learning applications.
- An upgraded simulation engine that uses advanced numerical methods and is optimized for modern computing hardware, including a GPU-rendered user interface and SSD-aware memory management, to provide dramatically higher speed and accuracy.
- Reduced overall runtimes and a 100% completion rate, based on Qorvo benchmark tests with a suite of challenging test circuits. This compares to a failure rate of up to 15% with these same test circuits using other popular SPICE simulators.
- Availability of a regularly updated QSPICE model library featuring Qorvo’s silicon carbide and advanced power management solutions, making it easy for customers to evaluate and design with Qorvo power.
QSPICE is available now at www.qspice.com and is actively supported by Qorvo as well as a robust user community through Qorvo’s QSPICE forum at forum.qorvo.com.
Original – Qorvo®
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Wide Bandgap (WBG) semiconductors play a strategic role in driving innovation and creating energy efficient and high-performance electronics. Demand for these semiconductors is fueled by sustainability, industry advancements, and advanced connectivity.
However, meeting this demand requires addressing challenges like cost, technology reliability, and geo-politic chaos among others. While the global WBG semiconductor industry is poised for unprecedented growth in the next 10 years, it would be critical to prioritize the opportunities, and effectively tackle the challenges to meet the short-term and long-term demands.
Join Frost & Sullivan for an engaging and thought-provoking Think Tank on “WBG Semiconductors: Overcoming Challenges, Unlocking Potential” on July 28, at 10:00 AM, EDT. The distinguished panel of semiconductor professionals will share their expertise and experiences and will address pressing questions like:
- How can WBG semiconductors play a central role in driving sustainability goals?
- How can WBG semiconductors contribute to improving efficiency in renewable energy systems and energy infrastructure?
- What role would regulations and standards play in driving the adoption of WBG semiconductors?
- Electric vehicles (EVs) have long been strong advocates for WBG semiconductors – What are the current opportunities beyond EV that demand immediate action?
Mark your calendars to engage in discussion with:
- Prabhu Karunakaran, Industry Principal at Frost & Sullivan
- Jonathan Robinson, VP Research, Power and Energy at Frost & Sullivan
- Stephen Oliver, Marketing & Investor Relations at Navitas Semiconductor
- Alexey Cherkasov, Marketing & Sales Director at Leapers Semiconductor
Original – Frost & Sullivan
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The European Commission has approved the “Important Project of Common European Interest on Microelectronics and Communication Technologies” (IPCEI-ME/CT) with the aim of initiating complex and investment-intensive projects that could not otherwise be realized. This involves 68 projects from 14 member states – and two of those comes from Semikron Danfoss.
Semikron Danfoss is planning the further development of diodes based on thin-wafer technology and the development of a new edge structure – as well as the establishment of automotive module production based on Direct Press Die technology in Nuremberg, a continuation of the activities from the IPCEI on Microelectronics project. And in Slovakia, development activities and an expansion of production for industrial modules are planned.
Projects funded under the IPCEI -ME/CT will enable the development of new technologies and products that will make a decisive contribution to the further reduction of CO2 emissions and will secure growth and jobs in Europe. The Semikron Danfoss projects address the objectives of the European Union to strengthen competitiveness and security of supply in key technologies for both the digital and the green transformation process.
Power semiconductors are an important multiplier along the value chain of many products. The projects also aim to expand European cooperation with universities and research institutes as well as suppliers. The member states are now starting the implementation process and will determine the requirements of the projects based on the EU decision. Thanks to the prior approval of the early start of the initiatives, the projects have already been launched. The official funding commitment from the federal government and the state of Bavaria is expected shortly for Germany.
Original – Semikron Danfoss
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Talk to the experts during Bodo Arlt’s virtual roundtable, focused on wide bandgap technology. Its goal is to keep the dialog going on, independent of any events that are hosted on fixed dates. These expert talks will build on the articles published in Bodo’s Power Systems magazine, giving you the chance to ask questions to the experts out of the industry.
If you are interested in participating as an expert, please plan your article for the magazine. Bodo’s team will then invite you to one of the upcoming rounds. The aim is to give as many companies as possible this opportunity, since a wide variety of contributions is of value to everyone. Different speakers will bring new perspectives and approaches.
Bodo’s next session will take place on July 26th.
SiC discussion is planned from 3:00 to 4:00 pm and GaN from 4:30 to 5:30 pm CESTOriginal – Bodo’s Power Systems
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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.
