201303.pdf 36567KB Mar 22 2013 09:11:22 PM

Cree
Cree is in a unique position in the
industry in that it uses a GaN process
for its RF devices and an SiC process
for its power devices. Due to its in-depth
knowledge and use of both processes,
the company has made a conscious decision
to use SiC for high voltages.
Cree’s target market for SiC power
devices is 1200V and 1700V solutions,
with 600V coming later. At higher
voltages, SiC unipolar devices have
an advantage over bipolar Si. The
challenge at 600V is that Si has better
performance, while Si CoolMOS
and insulated-gate bipolar transistors
(IGBTs) are lower cost.
The primary advantage of SiC
MOSFETs is their very low switching
losses, which increase efficiency and
enable higher-frequency operation. In
addition, the SiC MOSFET’s positive
temperature coefficient allows easy
paralleling to obtain higher operating
currents.
SiC has been successfully tested
at 10-kV levels. Cree targets future
MOSFETs at around the 3.3- and 6.5-
LikE This?
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power-management.
kV levels and at 10 kV. IGBTs have that
market now, but SiC’s low switching
losses would provide significant performance
advantages. Even at frequencies
below 4 kHz, SiC MOSFETs substantially
reduce losses compared with
IGBTs at these voltages.
NexFET TECHNOLOGY
POWER
INPUT
PWM CONTROLLER
CONTROL
ENGINE
POWER
MANAGEMENT
TPS40K
POWER
STAGE
DRIVER
STAGE
POWER
MANAGEMENT
POWER
BLOCK
MOSFET
MOSFET
FILTER
STAGE
POWER
OUTPUT
I SENSE
V SENSE
Figure 5 Texas Instruments’ NexFET technology smoothly fits in power-management point-of-load applications.
IGBT
MODULE
SiC POWER MODULE OR
“HYBRID” MODULE
FULL SiC POWER MODULE OR
SiC MOSFET MODULE
Si
IGBT
Si
FRD
Si
IGBT
SiC
SBD
SiC
MOS
SiC
SBD
POWER MODULES PUBLICLY AVAILABLE
INFINEON: MASS PRODUCING
MITSUBISHI AND TOSHIBA:
MP START FROM 2012
EDN1303CS Fig 8.eps
20% LOSS CUT
80∼90% LOSS REDUCTION
DIANE
ROHM: MASS PRODUCTION SINCE
MARCH 2012 (CUSTOM P/N)
TARGET APPLICATIONS: HIGH-FREQUENCY (>10 kHz) CONVERTERS
LOW-FREQUENCY (4 TO 10 kHz) IGBT INVERTERS TO DRIVE AC MOTORS ARE NOT GOOD CANDIDATES.
Figure 6 An all-SiC module greatly reduces power losses by eliminating any Si lossy components (courtesy Rohm Semiconductor).
44 EDN | March 2013 [ www.edn.com ]