Silicon carbide power is revolutionizing renewable energy systems, electric vehicles and telecom infrastructure. As a compound semiconductor boasting 10x the breakdown electric field strength of silicon devices, its breakthrough performance surpasses their counterparts.
Wolfspeed provides the products and expertise to upgrade power designs using SiC. Here are a few key benefits.
High-Voltage & High-Current
Silicon Carbide (SiC)-based power devices can operate at higher voltages and frequencies than their silicon-based counterparts, decreasing overall system losses while simultaneously improving efficiency. This enables smaller and lighter power designs with increased power density that ultimately lead to reduced BOM costs.
SiC’s superior performance stems from its wide bandgap, which allows it to transfer electrical energy much more efficiently than traditional silicon semiconductors. This enables power devices with much higher breakdown voltage and current capabilities, faster switching, reduced on-resistance resistance and enhanced thermal management capabilities.
This can result in smaller and more compact systems with lower waste, greater reliability and improved performance for critical applications such as electric vehicle (EV) inverters and solar power converters. Furthermore, motor efficiency improvements help extend EV driving distances and enhance power grid reliability – further benefiting other critical systems like power grids.
ST’s portfolio of SiC power devices comprises high-voltage, fast-switching diodes and thyristors with industry-leading maximum breakdown voltage of 20kV and frequency range up to 500MHz – perfect for high-voltage DC/DC converters used in electric vehicle inverters as well as stationary/solar PV inverters. Thanks to our comprehensive evaluation tools and design support services, designers can upgrade existing systems while keeping costs to a minimum – speeding time-to-market and staying competitive in their market space.
High Temperature & High-Temperature Resistance
Silicon carbide’s wide bandgap allows it to operate at higher temperatures, voltages, and frequencies than devices composed solely of silicon. This enables power devices constructed using it to operate more efficiently while reducing losses and heat production – leading to smaller and more efficient devices overall.
This hard, refractory semi-conductor could increase EV driving distance by up to 30% by improving inverter system performance and efficiency, and also help lower overall battery cost by providing fast charging capabilities in less time.
Versatile in nature, silicon carbide powder is widely utilized as an abrasive material in aerospace and automotive applications to achieve precision dimensions with smooth finishes on metal and ceramic parts. Furthermore, silicon carbide is widely utilized as a deoxidizing agent, producing silicon tetrachloride as an industrial chemical used for steelmaking processes.
SiC, in its pure state, is an electrical insulator but can be doped with impurities to become a semiconductor. Aluminum, boron, gallium and phosphorus are commonly used as dopants to give SiC P-type and N-type semiconductor properties. With so many doping options available to them, manufacturers can tailor SiC for specific electronic and sensor applications by selecting specific impurities to create desired behaviors in devices utilizing it; ultimately producing a device capable of operating under extreme temperatures with low turn-on resistance and switching speed resulting in low turn-on resistance and switching speeds – ideal for high temperature environments!
High Efficiency & High Reliability
Silicon is traditionally the go-to material for power electronics applications; however, as power systems require higher efficiency and greater power density, silicon carbide has emerged as an efficient alternative.
SiC, a compound semiconductor composed of silicon and carbon, offers numerous advantages over traditional silicon power devices: higher breakdown voltage, faster switching speeds, lower on-resistance and better thermal conductivity – which in turn equate to reduced loss and more efficient power conversion.
SiC has the advantage of operating at much higher frequencies (up to 200kHz) while still remaining at its same junction temperature, which reduces cooling requirements and system size while simultaneously decreasing BOM costs and permitting more compact, lightweight systems.
SiC’s superior reliability should also be taken into account, with its intrinsic carrier density being more than 10 orders of magnitude lower than silicon and consequently leading to reduced leakage currents and self-heating for devices, leading to extended lifetimes for these products.
SiC is known for its performance and efficiency advantages. Furthermore, its chemical inertness, radiation hardness and high dielectric strength protect it against environmental degradation while providing reliable operation across a broad operating temperature range. Due to these characteristics, SiC power is ideal for applications involving electric vehicle regenerative braking and fast charging with voltage surges that may reach significant levels; Wolfspeed offers tools and resources that make upgrading existing designs with SiC easier and lowers BOM costs while simultaneously increasing system reliability.
High Efficiency & Low Cost
Silicon has long been the go-to material for power electronics applications. But as systems demand higher efficiencies, higher power densities, and enhanced reliability, compound semiconductors like SiC are becoming an increasingly popular option. Their wider bandgap and lower power loss enable smaller and lighter power supplies with increased performance capabilities.
SiC offers an increased bandgap over silicon’s 1.12eV range, enabling power electronic devices to operate at higher temperatures, voltages, and frequencies.
These attributes also help lower system costs by enabling more cost-effective cooling and simpler designs. SiC’s ability to tolerate high levels of heat means less complex thermal management solutions are required and components can be built more tightly together.
SiC is an outstanding conductor of electricity; less energy is wasted by way of heat loss, further improving power efficiency and decreasing component costs – an asset which makes SiC an excellent choice for applications requiring mission-critical requirements.
Silicon carbide differs from silicon in that it exists in various polytypes with various crystal structures, with 3C-SiC (3-carbon tetrahedral or zinc blende) being one of the more widely-used varieties with ABC stacking sequence and isotropic properties; often utilized commercially for applications including e-mobility and wind turbine converters.
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