Power Electronics Europe April/May Issue 2022

16 SILICON CARBIDE www.microchip.com/en-us/product/MOSFET-SIC-1700V Issue 2 2022 Power Electronics Europe www.power-mag.com Enhancing Power Conversion from Watts to Megawatts with 1700 V SiC MOSFETs In the world of power electronics, bigger is never better. This holds particularly true for high-voltage power systems, where designers are clamoring for better semiconductor technology to meet customer demand for converters that are smaller, lighter, more reliable and efficient, and less expensive. With Silicon MOSFETs and IGBTs, compromises must be made; for example, one must select either the most reliable design or the most efficient design, but not both. High-voltage Silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs are the key that designers need to unlock themselves from Silicon’s handcuffs. In this article, the benefits offered by 1700V SiC MOSFETs over the incumbent silicon solutions across a wide range of power levels—from watts to megawatts—are discussed in detail. Kevin Speer, Sr. Manager SiC Solutions, and Xuning Zhang, Sr. Tech Staff Engineer, Microchip Technology, USA For nearly two decades, SiC power devices rated from 650 to 1200 V have permeated the marketplace, at last allowing designers to make disruptive advancements to technologies and end equipment – simultaneously improving performance, reliability, size, weight, and even cost. The recent release of a 1700V SiC product family extends SiC’s myriad benefits up the power food chain to help shift the power conversion paradigm into new end segments, such as electrified commercial and heavy-duty vehicles, light rail traction and auxiliary power, renewable energy, and industrial drives (Figure 1). Tens to hundreds of watts At such a low power level, what cause Figure 1: Examples of electrified vehicles which will reap the benefits of high-voltage SiC MOSFETs