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Nexperia announced that its class-leading 650 V, 10 A silicon carbide (SiC) Schottky diode is now automotive qualified (PSC1065H-Q) and available in real-two-pin (R2P) DPAK (TO-252-2) packaging, making it suitable for various applications in electric vehicles and other automobiles.
Additionally, in a further extension to its portfolio of SiC diodes, Nexperia is now also offering industrial-grade devices with current ratings of 6 A, 16 A, and 20 A in TO-220-2, TO-247-2, and D2PAK-2 packaging to facilitate greater design flexibility. These diodes address the challenges of demanding high voltage and high current applications including switched-mode power supplies, AC-DC and DC-DC converters, battery-charging infrastructure, motor drives, uninterruptible power supplies as well as photovoltaic inverters for sustainable energy production.
The merged PiN Schottky (MPS) structure of these devices provides additional advantages over similar competing SiC diodes, including outstanding robustness against surge currents. This eliminates the need for additional protection circuitry, thereby significantly reducing system complexity and enabling hardware designers to achieve higher efficiency with smaller form factors in rugged high-power applications. Nexperia’s consistent quality across various semiconductor technologies provides designers with confidence in the reliability of these diodes.
In addition, Nexperia’s ‘thin SiC’ technology delivers a thinner substrate (one-third of its original thickness) which dramatically reduces the thermal resistance from the junction to the back-side metal. This results in lower operating temperature, higher reliability and device lifetime, higher surge current capability, and lower forward voltage drop.
“We’ve seen an excellent market response to the initial release of our SiC diodes. They have proven themselves in design-ins with one notable example in power supplies for industrial applications, where customers have achieved especially good results. The superior reverse recovery of these diodes translates to high efficiency in real-world use”, says Katrin Feurle, Senior Director and Head of Product Group SiC Diodes & FETs at Nexperia. “We are particularly excited that this is our first automotive-qualified product, and it is already recognized by major automotive players for its performance and reliability.”
Original – Nexperia
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LATEST NEWS / PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY / SiC / WBG2 Min Read
Semikron Danfoss and SMA announced that the Sunny Boy Smart Energy incorporates the SEMITOP E power modules based on silicon carbide. The SEMITOP E features a low-inductance design with superior thermal performance, all in an industry standard housing. The SEMITOP E product offers a variety of circuit topologies based on the latest 650V-1200V silicon carbide technology from multiple sources.
“We strongly believe that the SEMITOP E is the power semiconductor package of choice for applying silicon carbide in advanced solar inverters,” says Roberto Agostini, Product Manager Semikron Danfoss.
“The SEMITOP E has been essential in increasing throughput and efficiency in our assembly,” says SMA Product Manager Petra Nawratil. “The press-fit design and simple mounting approach enabled a higher automation level in the assembly line for the Sunny Boy Smart Energy and following products.”
Residential solar inverters are tasked with generating solar power with the highest efficiency, enabled through silicon carbide technology.
The Sunny Boy Smart Energy is part of the new SMA Home Storage Solution, which enables fast and effective solar generation and storage. It is scalable to meet changing needs and adaptable to additional use cases such as an EV charger, a heat pump, dynamic tariffs, or peak load shaving. The modular SMA Home Storage battery can be expanded anytime to store more solar power.
Original – Semikron Danfoss
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GaN / LATEST NEWS / WBG3 Min Read
hofer powertrain announced the commencement of a groundbreaking research project in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich), focusing on the development of a state-of-the-art multilevel Gallium Nitride (GaN) traction inverter. Supported by a prestigious funding from INNOSUISSE, the Swiss Agency of Innovation Promotion, which advances science-based innovations in the interest of the economy and society in Switzerland. The next steps in this project will enable the pursuit of cutting-edge advancements in power electronics even further.
The core objective of the project is to rapidly develop an advanced multilevel traction inverter integrating Gallium Nitride (GaN) switches. hofer powertrain has made significant strides in developing advanced multilevel power electronics utilizing Gallium Nitride (GaN) chip technology over the last four years, resulting in enhanced efficiency and power density compared to silicon-based systems.
Their latest 800V GaN inverters have showcased remarkable performance in tests. The collaborative project with ETH Zurich builds on that experience to realize a revolutionary inverter solution, which aims to leverage a novel modulation scheme, operate at very high switching frequencies, and incorporate a wide array of additional pioneering features that the company has been working on in recent years.
ETH has appointed a highly qualified PhD candidate to lead the research efforts, ensuring the project benefits from fresh, innovative thinking and rigorous academic oversight. The project will be supervised by Professor Johann Biela from ETH Zurich, a renowned expert in power electronics, and Lukasz Roslaniec, the division lead of power electronics at hofer powertrain, who brings extensive industry experience to the table and has been working on these technologies proactively.
The funding from Innosuisse underscores the project’s significance and potential impact in the country and the DACH-region. This financial support will facilitate the design of a new, optimized, and highly efficient three-level GaN power inverter, featuring adaptive gate drivers to improve switching controllability and further reduce energy losses. The outcome will significantly enhance the performance and efficiency of powertrain systems for modern electrified vehicles, making a substantial contribution to the future of mobility.
Dr. Lukasz Roslaniec highlights the driving force behind this project, stating, “We eagerly anticipate the fruitful collaboration with ETH, renowned for its groundbreaking work in Power Electronics and Electric Drives. We are confident that our partnership will yield solutions that are not only technologically advanced and unparalleled but also financially accessible, thereby pushing the adoption of electric vehicles and environmental sustainability in the region and beyond.”
Original – hofer powertrain