News

7 July 2009

 

Cree launches Z-Rec 600V SiC power diodes

Cree Inc of Durham, NC, USA has announced the availability of its 600V silicon carbide (SiC) junction barrier Schottky (JBS) diodes.

The firm says that its new Z-Rec diodes provide improved device power efficiency and enhanced surge current capability, allowing system optimization for performance and cost in power conversion applications ranging from 250W to 1500W. Primarily used for boost diode applications in power factor correction (PFC) circuits, Z-Rec SiC JBS diodes, through their inherent lack of reverse-recovery currents, can reduce AC-DC power supply losses by up to 10% versus silicon fast-recovery diodes, it is reckoned.

Cree says that the zero reverse-recovery current of its SiC diodes has enabled switch-mode power supplies to reach and exceed ENERGY STAR, 80-plus certification levels. The new Z-Rec devices add to SiC diode power savings through device junction capacitance values that are as much as 10% lower than Cree’s first-generation devices, reducing switching losses and extending the power savings to systems operating at higher switching frequencies. Each new device, of a given current rating, maintains the low Vf (<1.8V) of previous Cree SiC diodes at rated current and temperature, so there is no compromise in conduction losses.

The ability to sustain repetitive and non-repetitive surge currents has long been a limitation when designing-in SiC JBS diodes, says Cree. Early-generation SiC diodes often required designers to choose a device with a higher-than-required current rating to assure robust and reliable operation under potential surge conditions. Cree says that its advances in SiC power device structures and design allow the Z-Rec diodes to provide optimal efficiency with use of the minimum required current-rated device. Also, the performance and application cost advantages of the Z-Rec diode support ‘green’ energy efficiency in an expanding number of power supply designs for server, PCs, communications, industrial and consumer switch mode power supplies, the firm adds.

“SiC power diodes are rapidly becoming a standard component, replacing their silicon predecessors for applications in which efficiency, switching speed and reliability are prerequisites,” says Dr Cengiz Balkas, VP & general manager, power and RF.

Z-Rec 600V devices are available in 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 20 Amp ratings in TO-220-2, TO-220-2 fully molded (Full-Pack), TO-247-3, TO-252-2 (D-Pak), and TO-263-2 (D2Pak) packages. All devices are RoHS, REACH, and Halogen-Free compliant.

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Visit: www.cree.com/power