24 January 2012

Renesas launches second series of low-loss SiC power devices integrating power conversion circuit in single package

Tokyo-based Renesas Electronics Corp has announced the availability of three new silicon carbide (SiC) power devices (the RJQ6020DPM, RJQ6021DPM and RJQ6022DPM), which incorporate multiple silicon carbide (SiC) diodes and power transistors in a single package to comprise a power converter circuit or switching circuit.

Picture: Renesas’ new RJQ6020DPM, RJQ6021DPM and RJQ6022DPM SiC power devices.

The new devices are the second series of power semiconductor products from Renesas to use SiC, which can reduce electrical losses, and they are intended for use in home appliances such as air conditioners, PC servers and power electronics products (e.g. solar power generation systems).

Recently, efforts to reduce the power consumption of electric devices have progressed to address considerations such as environmental protection, and demand has increased for higher efficiency in a variety of electrical products, says Renesas. In particular, a strong trend can be seen toward boosting power conversion efficiency and operating efficiency to reduce power consumption in power switching circuits for products such as air conditioners, communication base-stations, PC servers, and solar power generation systems, and in inverter circuits for applications such as motors and industrial equipment.

This has spurred demand for power devices with improved efficiency and lower-loss characteristics. Renesas responded by earlier this month launching Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) employing SiC to achieve reduced loss. The latest, second series of SiC power devices implement a circuit (switching, power conversion, etc) in a single package by combining an SiC SBD and high-power silicon MOSFETs or IGBTs.

The new products have a voltage tolerance of 600V and use an SiC diode based on low-leakage SiC-SBD technology developed jointly by Renesas and Hitachi Ltd. They combine low loss and compactness and are available in a fully molded TO-3P package with a 5-pin configuration and pin assignments optimized for specific applications, making it easy to configure a circuit unit incorporating them, it is claimed.

Key features of the three new SiC power devices are as follows:

• The RJQ6020DPM device for critical-conduction mode PFC applications combines an SiC SBD and two high-voltage power MOSFETs (required in switching circuits for critical-conduction mode PFC in the power supplies of products such as air conditioners or flat-panel TVs). The reverse recovery time (trr) of the SiC-SBD is only 15ns, and the high-voltage power MOSFETs are highly efficient super-junction (SJ-MOS) transistors employing a deep-trench configuration to achieve a low on-resistance of 100mΩ. The RJQ6020DPM can also be combined with Renesas’ R2A20112A/132 critical-conduction mode PFC-IC, making it easy to implement interleaved control.

• The RJQ6021DPM device for continuous-conduction mode PFC applications combines an SiC-SBD and two IGBTs (required for PFC in applications such as AC/DC rectifiers for communication equipment and PC servers). The ultra-thin-wafer IGBTs deliver a low on-voltage of 1.5V, suiting continuous-conduction mode PFC. The RJQ6021DPM can also be combined with Renesas’ R2A20114A continuous-conduction mode PFC-IC, making it easy to implement interleaved control.

• The RJQ6022DPM device for inverter half-bridge circuits combines two SiC-SBDs and two IGBTs (required for half-bridge circuits in inverters for applications such as motor drive in air conditioners and industrial machinery). The ultra-thin-wafer IGBTs deliver a low on-voltage of 1.5V and short circuit time (tsc) of 6μs, suiting motor drive applications. A single RJQ6022DPM device is sufficient to implement a half-bridge circuit, while two can be used for a full-bridge configuration and three for a three-phase bridge configuration. In addition to simplifying the design of motor drive circuits, the RJQ6022DPM will be available as part of kit solutions with Renesas MCUs (microcontroller units) such as the RX600 Series.

With a focus on high-voltage power devices, the new series of SiC power devices was developed to provide total solutions comprising MCUs plus analog and power devices. The firm plans to roll out kit solutions combining the new SiC products with MCUs, power control ICs, and other devices. Reference boards mounted with the new SiC power devices, PFC-ICs, RX600 Series MCUs etc are being planned to help customers with kit evaluation and product design.

Sampling of the new SiC power devices is scheduled to begin in February, priced at $10 per unit. Mass production will start in May and is expected to reach a combined volume of 300,000 units per month in April 2013. (Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.)

Tags: Renesas SiC power devices

Visit: www.renesas.com