-
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that it will begin shipping samples of its new NX-type full-SiC (silicon carbide) power semiconductor module for industrial equipment on June 14. The module, which reduces internal inductance and incorporates a second-generation SiC chip, is expected to contribute to the realization of more efficient, smaller and lighter-weight industrial equipment.
Power semiconductors are increasingly being utilized to convert electric power extra efficiently and thereby help to lower the carbon footprint of global society. Expectations are particularly high for SiC power semiconductors because of their capability to significantly reduce power loss. The demand is expanding for high-power, high-efficiency power semiconductors capable of improving the power-conversion efficiency of components such as inverters used in industrial equipment.
Mitsubishi Electric began releasing power semiconductor modules equipped with SiC chips in 2010. The new module, which features a low-loss SiC chip and optimized electrode structure, reduces internal inductance by 47% compared to its existing predecessor, enabling reduced power loss. Development of this SiC product have been partially supported by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
Original – Mitsubishi Electric
-
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that it has developed a new structure for a silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (SiC-MOSFET) embedded with a Schottky barrier diode (SBD), which the company has applied in a 3.3 kV full SiC power module, the FMF 800 DC -66 BEW for large industrial equipment such as railways and DC power systems. Samples began shipping on May 31. The chip’s new structure is expected to help downsize railway traction systems, etc. as well as make them more energy efficient, and contribute to carbon neutrality through the increased adoption of DC power transmission.
SiC power semiconductors are attracting attention with their capacity to significantly reduce power loss. Mitsubishi Electric, which commercialized SiC power modules equipped with SiC-MOSFETs and SiC-SBDs in 2010, has adopted SiC power semiconductors for a variety of inverter systems, including air conditioners and railways.
The chip integrated with a SiC-MOSFET and a SiC-SBD can be mounted on a module more compactly compared to the conventional method of using separate chips, thus enabling smaller modules, larger capacity, and lower switching loss. It is expected to be widely used in large industrial equipment such as railways and electric power systems. Until now, the practical application of power modules with SBD-embedded SiC-MOSFETs has been difficult due to their relatively low surge-current capability, which results in the thermal destruction of the chips during surge-current events because surge currents in connected circuits concentrate only in specific chips.
Mitsubishi Electric has now developed the world’s first mechanism by which surge current concentrates on a specific chip in a parallel-connected chip structure inside a power module, and a new chip structure in which all chips start energizing simultaneously so that surge current is distributed throughout each chip. As a result, the power module’s surge-current capacity has been improved by a factor of five or more compared to the company’s existing technology, which is equal to or greater than that of conventional Si power modules, thus enabling the application of an SBD-embedded SiC-MOSFET in a power module.
Original – Mitsubishi Electric
-
Coherent Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on a program to scale manufacturing of SiC power electronics on a 200 mm technology platform.
The market for electric vehicles is expanding worldwide and is just one of several emerging applications driving the exponential growth in SiC power devices, which have lower energy losses, higher operating temperatures, and higher switching speeds compared with power devices based on silicon. The high efficiency of SiC power devices is expected to be a significant contributor to global decarbonization and the green transformation.
To meet the rapidly growing demand, Mitsubishi Electric announced an investment of approximately 260 billion yen in the five-year period ending March 2026. A major portion of the investment, approximately 100 billion yen, will be used to construct a new plant for SiC power devices, based on a 200 mm technology platform, and enhance related production facilities. Under the MOU, Coherent will develop a supply of 200 mm n-type 4H SiC substrates for Mitsubishi Electric’s future SiC power devices manufactured at the new facility.
“We are excited to build on our relationship with Mitsubishi Electric, a pioneer in SiC power devices and a global market leader in SiC power modules for high-speed trains, including the famous Shinkansen in Japan,” said Sohail Khan, Executive Vice President, New Ventures & Wide-Bandgap Electronics Technologies at Coherent. “We have a long track record of supplying SiC substrates to Mitsubishi Electric and are looking forward to expanding our relationship with them to scale their new 200 mm SiC platform.”
“Coherent has been for many years a reliable supplier of high-quality 150 mm SiC wafer substrates to Mitsubishi Electric,” said Masayoshi Takemi, Executive Officer, Group President, Semiconductor & Device at Mitsubishi Electric. “We are delighted to enter into this close partnership with Coherent to scale our respective SiC manufacturing platforms to 200 mm.”
Coherent has decades of experience in the development of SiC materials. The company demonstrated the world’s first 200 mm conductive substrates in 2015. In 2019, Coherent began to supply 200 mm SiC substrates under REACTION, a Horizon 2020 four-year program funded by the European Commission.
Over the years, Mitsubishi Electric has led the SiC power module markets for high-speed trains, high-voltage industrial applications, and home appliances. Mitsubishi Electric made history by launching the world’s first SiC power modules for air conditioners in 2010, and became the first supplier of a full SiC power module for Shinkansen high-speed trains in 2015. Mitsubishi Electric has also built extensive expertise by serving customers’ needs for high performance and high reliability through its outstanding techniques of processing and screening, as well as many other facets of developing and manufacturing SiC power modules.
Power electronics based on SiC have demonstrated their potential to have a highly beneficial impact on the environment via significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. Through the rapidly growing demand for SiC power devices, Coherent and Mitsubishi Electric will accelerate their contribution to sustainable energy consumption and the decarbonization of society.
Original – Coherent
-
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that it will begin shipping samples of a new HV100 dual-type X-Series high-voltage insulated gate bipolar transistor (HVIGBT) module on May31, offering superior power, efficiency and reliability in inverter systems for large industrial equipment such as railways and electric power systems. The dual-type module, which achieves 4.5kV withstand voltage and 10.2kVrms dielectric strength, is rated at 450A, which is believed to be unmatched among 4.5kV silicon HVIGBT modules.
Power semiconductors are increasingly being utilized to efficiently convert electric power in order to lower the carbon footprint of global society, particularly in heavy industry, where these devices are used in power-conversion equipment such as inverters in railway traction systems and for DC power transmission. In response to the growing demand for devices offering high output, high efficiency and wide-ranging output capacity, Mitsubishi Electric released two versions (3.3kV/450A and 3.3kV/600A) of its HV100 dual-type X-Series high-dielectric-strength HVIGBT module in 2021. In the near future, the forthcoming HV100 dual-type X-Series module will contribute to even higher output, higher efficiency and improved system reliability for inverters used in large industrial equipment requiring high dielectric strength.
Original – Mitsubishi Electric
