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STMicroelectronics has signed a long-term silicon carbide (SiC) supply agreement with Li Auto, a leader in China’s new energy vehicle market that designs, develops, manufactures, and sells smart premium electric vehicles. Under this agreement, STMicroelectronics will provide Li Auto with SiC MOSFET devices to support Li Auto’s strategy around high-voltage battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in various market segments.
As the automotive industry transforms towards electrification and decarbonization, high-voltage BEVs have become a popular choice for car makers. These vehicles offer outstanding energy efficiency and extended mileage. Li Auto, known for its extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), is entering the BEV market with its first-ever high-tech flagship family MPV BEV model premiered in Q4 2023. With plans to introduce more high-voltage BEV models soon, Li Auto will require high volumes of SiC MOSFETs that it will integrate into its traction inverters to ensure superior electric-vehicle performance.
ST’s SiC devices increase performance and efficiency through higher switching frequencies, breakdown voltages, and thermal resistance. These are all particularly critical characteristics at the higher operating voltages required for battery electric vehicles. Li Auto is adopting ST’s advanced third-generation 1200V SiC MOSFET in the traction inverter of its upcoming 800V BEV platform, to ensure industry-leading process stability and performance, efficiency, and reliability.
“Li Auto is committed to providing families with premium EVs exceeding their expectation. This agreement with ST stands as a testament to Li Auto’s unwavering dedication in BEV product development. Collaborating with the renowned global leader in SiC technologies, we anticipate a forthcoming relationship filled with innovation and success,” said Qingpeng MENG, Vice President of Supply Chain, Li Auto.
Holding more than 50% market share in SiC MOSFETs worldwide, ST’s SiC technology has earned high praise from top OEMs for its electric-vehicle performance. It is widely used in onboard chargers and power modules.
“As a world leader in power devices and wide bandgap semiconductor technologies, ST has established long-term supply agreements with major car makers and Tier 1 suppliers. The SiC supply agreement with Li Auto marks a significant step building upon our existing long-term relationship in other automotive applications,” said Henry CAO, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing, China Region, STMicroelectronics. “ST is committed to supporting Li Auto’s ambition to become a top premium electric vehicle brand in China, offering their customers superior vehicle performance and range with our innovative SiC technologies.”
Original – STMicroelectronics
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Teledyne e2v HiRel announced the addition of new space screened versions of its popular 100 V, 90 A and 650 V, 30 A high reliability gallium nitride high electron mobility transistors (GaN HEMTs).
- TDG650E30BSP
- TDG100E90BSP
- TDG100E90TSP
The new parts go through NASA Level 1 or ESA Class 1 screening flow and can be brought up to full Level 1 conformance with extra qualification testing if desired. Typical applications include battery management, dc-dc converters, and space motor drives.
Two new 100 V parts are available with both bottom-side and top-side cooled packaging. One new 650 V 30 A GaN-on-Silicon power transistor is available in a bottom-side cooled package. Each device is available with options for EAR99 or European sourcing.
Teledyne e2v HiRel’s GaN HEMTs feature single wafer lot traceability, extended temperature performance from -55 to +125°C, and low inductance, low thermal resistance packaging.
“Our customers have embraced the previous release of 650 V space screened devices, and we have expanded our portfolio to provide additional options. These GaN HEMT products save customers time and money by providing standard devices without the need for additional screening.” said Mont Taylor, VP of Business Development for Teledyne e2v HiRel. “Our expanded catalog with standard burn-in make it easy for designers to utilize the latest in GaN in their designs.”
Gallium nitride devices have revolutionized power conversion in other industries and are now available in radiation tolerant, plastic encapsulated options that have undergone stringent reliability and electrical testing to help ensure mission critical success. The release of these new GaN HEMTs delivers to customers the efficiency, size, and power-density benefits required in critical aerospace and defense power applications.
Original – Teledyne e2v HiRel
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Dr. Christian Kranert, Group Manager Equipment and Defect Simulation of the Materials Department at Fraunhofer IISB, developed a new software for the fast, full-wafer and automated detection and classification of crystal defects in silicon carbide (SiC) substrates. He also pushed the licensing of his new, so-called x-ray ropography (XRT) toolbox to the users of the x-ray topography measuring device XRTmicron from Rigaku. Another highlight is the establishment of two new SEMI International Standards for 4H-SiC defect quantification using XRT test methods.
These outstanding results confirm the success of the Joint Labs model at Fraunhofer IISB. Joint Labs are an exclusive opportunity to collaborate with Fraunhofer IISB in an industry-compatible laboratory environment.
Rigaku Europe SE and Fraunhofer IISB are operating the Center of Expertise for X-ray Topography, a joint lab that is located at the IISB’s headquarters in Erlangen, Germany. This fruitful collaboration is vividly illustrated by the new business in the field of SiC wafer mapping, which Rigaku has built up around its XRTmicron product line in less than two years.
The new LZE Prize honors Fraunhofer IISB employees for exceptional achievements. The LZE Prize is awarded for outstanding acquisitions or particularly successful collaborations, new networks with domestic and foreign partners or above-average achievements in the transfer of know-how from research to industry. The Leistungszentrum Elektroniksysteme (LZE) is a joint initiative of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Fraunhofer IIS, Fraunhofer IISB, and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), together with industry partners and further research institutes.
Original – Fraunhofer IISB
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Aehr Test Systems announced it has received an initial customer order for a FOX-NP™ wafer level test and burn-in system and a FOX WaferPak™ Aligner to be used for gallium nitride (GaN) power devices. The customer is a leading global supplier of semiconductor devices used in electric vehicles and power infrastructure and adds another major customer to the list of companies using Aehr’s FOX products for wafer level test and burn-in of wide bandgap compound semiconductors. The FOX-NP system, including the FOX WaferPak Aligner, is scheduled to ship and be installed in the current fiscal quarter.
As Aehr’s first gallium nitride customer to order a system, this company selected Aehr due in part to its unique ability to offer a total solution that allows customers to apply thermal and electrical stress conditions to thousands of devices while still in wafer form. Aehr’s cutting-edge technology provides critical geolocation information across the wafer while inducing the extrinsic (early life) failures that would otherwise fail in the field without reducing the long-term reliability or life of the good devices.
Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr Test Systems, commented, “After seeing the positive results from their long and extensive evaluation of our FOX wafer level test systems for their silicon carbide devices, this customer decided to first move forward with our FOX-NP system to test their gallium nitride devices’ long-term reliability failure rates, as well as qualify the production extrinsic failure screening process for their devices in applications where safety, reliability, and/or security are critical.
A key consideration behind their decision is that the FOX-NP system is 100% compatible with the Aehr FOX-XP system that is targeted for high volume production and can support all the test modes needed for both gallium nitride and silicon carbide device testing and burn-in, including high-voltage testing of up to 2,000 volts with full wafer test without electrical arcing that can damage the wafer, which is a distinct advantage of our unique patented technology.
“Similar to silicon carbide, gallium nitride semiconductor MOSFETs are considered wide bandgap devices with much higher efficiencies in terms of power conversion than silicon, with gallium nitride being particularly good for lower power devices such as under 1000 watt power converters used in consumer devices such as cell phones, tablets, and laptop computers, as well as being targeted for automotive power converters for all the electrical systems in automobiles, whether electric vehicles or traditional gasoline automobiles. Gallium nitride MOSFETs are also believed by many industry analysts and technical communities to likely take over silicon as the power converter of choice for photovoltaic (solar panel) applications.
“Gallium nitride and silicon carbide devices both have excellent long-term intrinsic reliability, making them very good for automotive and industrial applications. But both also experience higher than acceptable early life or extrinsic failures related to the material and processing steps. Gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductor suppliers can add a special stress or screening test known as burn-in on 100% of the devices to identify and remove these early life failures so that they can meet the end customers’ target reliability needs. This 100% burn-in requirement is not unique to these devices, as it is also the case with microprocessors and microcontrollers, dynamic random-access memories (DRAM), flash non-volatile memories, as well as many sensors used in automotive and other industrial applications.”
Aehr enables its customers to cost-effectively implement the needed testing and qualification process for semiconductor devices that experience early life failures by not only applying the electrical stress condition to every device on the wafer but by also testing up to 18 wafers at a time using the FOX-XP production test and burn in system. These electrical tests are done with up to thousands of precise calibrated electrical source and measurement instruments per wafer. These tests are done while maintaining the temperature at an accurately programmed thermal temperature across each of the wafers using a direct conduction thermal transfer via a proprietary patented precision thermal chuck per wafer.
The FOX-NP compliments Aehr’s production FOX-XP system by using the exact same test ‘Blades’ that are in the FOX-XP to allow 100% correlation between the results on the FOX-NP to the FOX-XP.
The FOX-XP and FOX-NP systems, available with multiple WaferPak Contactors (full wafer test) or multiple DiePakTM Carriers (singulated die/module test) configurations, are capable of functional test and burn-in/cycling of devices such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride power semiconductors, silicon photonics as well as other optical devices, 2D and 3D sensors, flash memories, magnetic sensors, microcontrollers, and other leading-edge ICs in either wafer form factor, before they are assembled into single or multi-die stacked packages, or in singulated die or module form factor.
Original – Aehr Test Systems
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SemiQ Inc has expanded its QSiC™ power modules portfolio with the introduction of a new series of 1200V silicon-carbide (SiC) power MOSFETs in half-bridge packages.
Engineered and tested to operate reliably in demanding environments, these new compact, high-performance modules enable high-power-density implementations while minimizing dynamic and static losses.
Featuring high breakdown voltage (>1400V), the new QSiC™ modules support high-temperature operation (Tj = 175°C) with low Rds(On) shift over the full temperature range. In addition, the modules exhibit industry-leading gate oxide stability and long gate oxide lifetime, avalanche unclamped inductive switching (UIS) ruggedness and long short-circuit withstand time.
With a solid foundation of high-performance ceramics, the new SiC modules are suitable for EV charging, on-board chargers (OBCs), DC-DC converters, E-compressors, fuel cell converters, medical power supplies, photovoltaic inverters, energy storage systems, solar and wind energy systems, data center power supplies, UPS/PFC circuits, Vienna rectifiers, and other automotive and industrial applications.
To ensure that each module has a stable gate threshold voltage and high-quality gate oxide, SemiQ’s modules undergo gate burn-in testing at the wafer level. Besides the burn-in test, which helps to stabilize the extrinsic failure rate, stress tests such as gate stress, high-temperature reverse bias (HTRB) drain stress, and high humidity, high voltage, high temperature (H3TRB) allow achieving the required automotive and industrial grade quality levels. The devices also have extended short-circuit ratings. All modules have undergone testing exceeding 1350V.
Dr. Timothy Han, President at SemiQ, said, “SemiQ’s commitment to reliability and testing sets us apart in the semiconductor industry. Our high-performance QSiC™ 1200V MOSFET modules are proven to withstand challenging conditions, enabling engineers to develop reliable systems for the renewable, automotive, medical, and industrial sectors.”
SemiQ’s new 1200V 5mΩ, 10mΩ, and 20mΩ SiC MOSFET are available in industry standard half-bridge packages.
Part Number Circuit Configuration Ratings Typ. RdsOn [mΩ] GCMX010A120B2B1P Half-bridge 1200V/214A, B2 9 GCMX020A120B2B1P Half-bridge 1200V/102A, B2 19 GCMX005A120B3B1P Half-bridge 1200V/383A, B3 4.4 GCMX010A120B3B1P Half-bridge 1200V/173A, B3 9 Original – SemiQ
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Power Integrations announced a new family of plug-and-play gate drivers for 62 mm silicon-carbide (SiC) MOSFET and silicon IGBT modules rated up to 1700 V, with enhanced protection features to ensure safe, reliable operation.
SCALE™-2 2SP0230T2x0 dual-channel gate drivers deploy short-circuit protection in less than two microseconds, protecting the compact SiC MOSFETs against damaging over-currents. The new drivers also include advanced active clamping (AAC) to protect the switches against over-voltage during turn-off, enabling higher DC link operating voltages.
Thorsten Schmidt, product marketing manager at Power Integrations, commented: “The 2SP0230T2x0 gate drivers are flexible; the same hardware can be used to drive either SiC MOSFET or IGBT modules. This reduces both system design and sourcing challenges, and the plug-and-play approach speeds development.”
Ideal for applications such as railway auxiliary converters, offboard EV chargers and STATic synchronous COMpensator (STATCOM) voltage regulators for the power grid, 2SP0230T2x0 gate drivers are based on Power Integrations’ proven SCALE-2 technology, resulting in higher levels of integration, smaller size, more functionality and enhanced system reliability.
Power Integrations’ compact 134 x 62 mm 2SP0230T2x0 provides reinforced isolation at 1700 V, enabling use for up to 1700 V operation; this is 500 V higher than conventional drivers, which are typically limited to 1200 V.
Original – Power Integrations
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Nexperia announced that its GaN FET devices, featuring next-gen high-voltage GaN HEMT technology in proprietary copper-clip CCPAK surface mount packaging, are now available to designers of industrial and renewable energy applications.
Building on two decades of expertise in supplying high-volume, high-quality copper-clip SMD packaging, Nexperia is now proud to extend its revolutionary packaging approach to GaN cascode switches in CCPAK. The GAN039-650NTB, a 33 mΩ (typ.) Gallium Nitride (GaN) FET within the CCPAK1212i top-side cooling package, ushers in a new era of wide bandgap semiconductors and copper-clip packaging.
This technology offers advantages for renewable energy applications such as solar and residential heat pumps, further enhancing Nexperia’s commitment to developing the latest component technology for sustainable applications. It is also suited to a wide spectrum of industrial applications such as servo drives, switched-mode power supplies (SMPS), server, and telecom.
Nexperia’s CCPAK surface mount packaging uses Nexperia’s proven innovative copper-clip package technology to replace internal bond wires. This reduces parasitic losses, optimizes electrical and thermal performance, and improves device reliability. For maximum flexibility in designs, these CCPAK GaN FETs are available in top- or bottom-cooled configurations to further improve heat dissipation.
The cascode configuration of the GAN039-650NTB enables it to deliver superior switching and on-state performance, with a robust gate offering high margins against noise. This feature also simplifies application designs by eliminating the requirement for complex gate drivers and control circuitry, instead allowing them to be conveniently driven using standard silicon MOSFET drivers.
Nexperia’s GaN technology improves switching stability and helps to shrink die size by approximately 24%. In addition, device RDS(on) is reduced to only 33 mΩ (typ.) at 25°C, with a high threshold voltage and low diode forward voltage.
“Nexperia recognizes that designers of industrial and renewable energy equipment need a highly robust switching solution that can provide excellent thermal efficiency when performing power conversion.”, according to Carlos Castro, Vice President and General Manager of the GaN FET business at Nexperia. “This is why Nexperia decided to bring together the exceptional switching performance of its cascode GaN FETs with the exceptional thermal properties of its CCPAK packaging to offer customers a compelling solution.”
Nexperia begins its CCPAK portfolio release with the top-cooled 33 mΩ (typ.), 650 V GAN039-650NTB, and will follow shortly with the bottom-cooled variant, GAN039-650NBB of the same RDS(on). More information including datasheets and samples is available at www.nexperia.com/ccpak.
Original – Nexperia
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A plan by ROHM Co., Ltd. and Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation to collaborate in the manufacture and increased volume production of power devices has been recognized and will be supported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as a measure supporting the Japanese Government’s target of secure and stable semiconductor supply.
ROHM and Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage will respectively make intensive investments in silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si) power devices, effectively enhance their supply capabilities, and complementally utilize other party’s production capacity.
Power devices are essential components for supplying and managing power supply in all kinds of electronic equipment, and for achieving a carbon-free, carbon-neutral society. Current demand is expected to see continued growth.
In automotive applications, development of more efficient, smaller and lighter electric powertrains has advanced alongside the rapid expansion in vehicle electrification. In industrial applications, stable supply of power devices and improved characteristics are widely required to support increasing automation and higher efficiency requirements.
Against this backdrop, ROHM has formulated a management vision, “We focus on power and analog solutions and solve social problems by contributing to our customers’ needs for energy savings and miniaturization of their products.,” and accelerates its efforts for a carbon-free. SiC power devices are the keys to energy savings.
Since the world’s first mass production of SiC MOSFETs, ROHM has been constantly developing industry-leading technologies. Among these are ROHM’s latest 4th Generation SiC MOSFETs that will be adopted for numerous electric vehicles and industrial equipment. As one of its priority projects, ROHM is working on SiC business, which contains aggressive and continuous investment to increase the production capacity of SiC and meet strong demand growth.
Toshiba Group, with its long-standing Basic Commitment, “Committed to People, Committed to the Future.,” aims to advance the achievement of carbon neutrality and a circular economy. Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage has for decades supplied Si power devices, mainly for automotive and industrial markets, that have helped to secure energy saving solutions and equipment miniaturization.
The company started production on a 300mm wafer line last year, and is accelerating investment to enhance production capacity and meet strong demand growth. It is also advancing development of a wider lineup of SiC power devices, especially for automotive and power transmission and distribution applications, taking full advantage of the expertise it has cultivated in railway vehicle applications.
ROHM has already announced its participation in the privatization of Toshiba, but this investment did not serve as the starting point for manufacturing collaboration between the two companies. Under intensifying international competition in the semiconductor industry, ROHM and Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage have been considering collaboration in the power device business for some time, and that resulted in the joint application.
ROHM and Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage will collaborate in manufacturing power devices, through intensive investments in SiC and Si power devices, respectively, toward enhancing both companies’ international competitiveness. The companies will also seek to contribute to strengthening the resilience of semiconductor supply chains in Japan.
Original – Toshiba
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Today some applications tend to increase bus voltage, and using 1200V SiC power modules can no longer correspond to voltage requirements. Using 1700V SiC devices can solve the problem, but it comes with a price.
Leapers Semiconductor announced a new series of 1400V SiC power modules in already familiar E0 and ED3S packages. They are the perfect solution to the mentioned problem, providing great performance at affordable price.
At the moment the new series 1400V SiC modules come in Half-Bridge, H-Bridge, and Boost topologies.
Leapers Semiconductor new SiC product family features:
– 1,4kV voltage
– 50 – 600A current
– 3,2 – 40 mOhm Rds(on)
– Epoxy resin
– Si3N4 AMB substrate
– Low thermal resistance
– Low switching lossesFirst batches of 1400V SiC power modules successfully passed field tests by the end customers and soon will be mass used in:
– DC fast chargers
– Commercial EVs
– Power supplies for production of hydrogen
– DC/DC convertersOriginal – Leapers Semiconductor
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Navitas Semiconductor announced that NIO, a global, leading, new-energy vehicle maker has released its inaugural smartphone, the NIO Phone with a powerful 66 W fast charger featuring Navitas’ next-generation gallium-nitride (GaN) GaNFast™ power ICs equipped with GaNSense™ technology. This enhancement delivers flagship-level charging efficiency, providing end users with a better vehicle-centric mobile interconnection experience. New GaNFast ICs are replacing legacy silicon chips to enable next-gen fast-charging for mobile phones, tablets and laptops.
The flagship NIO Phone features the leading Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, and boasts a 6.81-inch 2K variable refresh-rate curved screen, with the main, ultra-wide-angle, and 50 M pixel periscope telephoto cameras. Using NIO Link panoramic-interconnection technology, the NIO Phone integrates smoothly and seamlessly with smart EVs and NIO’s in-car system. With a single click, the driver can control over 30 functions, and equipped with ultra-wideband technology, it can completely replace traditional car keys.
To support such powerful and comprehensive features, the NIO Phone is equipped with a large 5,200 mAh battery and an in-box GaNFast charger offering up to 66 W of charging power. Measuring only 57 x 57 x 30 mm (97.5 cc), the NV6136 GaNFast power IC in a high-frequency quasi-resonant (HFQR) topology with loss-less current sensing and ultra-fast autonomous short-circuit protection, delivers power density of 1.03 W/cc.
Mr. Zhang Baozhou who is responsible for NIO’s mobile phone supply chain, stated, “NIO is dedicated to providing users with high-performance smart electric vehicles and ultimate user experience, creating a delightful lifestyle for our users.
The NIO Phone fulfills the expectations and needs of NIO users for a flagship smartphone, making their cars more intuitive and user-friendly. In launching NIO Phone, we are very pleased to collaborate with Navitas Semiconductor, industry leader in GaN to utilize the mature, cutting-edge GaNFast power ICs, allowing our users to experience a comprehensive, lightweight, and efficient charging experience.”
Mr. Wu Gongli, GM of R&D for TenPao, the manufacturing partner for the NIO Phone commented, “We are excited to work with Navitas to build this leading GaN charger for NIO users, marking an important milestone in TenPao’s development. Navitas’ GaNFast ICs deliver top power-density performance with easy-to-use features. The combination of high efficiency and fast design accelerates our time-to-market.”
Mr. Yingjie (Charles) Zha, VP and GM of Navitas China, stated, “Navitas is extremely honored to collaborate with TenPao to make the NIO Phone possible by integrating the leading GaNFast technology into the NIO Phone. Navitas’ mission to ‘Electrify Our World™’ aligns closely with NIO’s objective of ‘Blue Sky Coming’. This is just the beginning of our collaboration. In the future, Navitas will spare no effort to deeply-integrate energy-saving, sustainable, world-leading GaN and SiC technology into NIO Phone’s DNA, creating a comprehensive lifestyle revolution from a smartphone to EVs.”
Original – Navitas Semiconductor
