26 August 2015

Cree to give presentations on SiC power devices at ECCE 2015

Cree Inc of Durham, NC, USA, which manufactures silicon carbide (SiC)-based power products — including SiC MOSFETs, Schottky diodes, and modules — is delivering five technical presentations at the seventh annual IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Expo (ECCE 2015) at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal, Canada (20–24 September).

On 21 September during the plenary session (8–10:30am, in room 517D), Dr John Palmour, co-founder & chief technology officer of Cree's Power and RF business unit, will present 'SiC Power Devices: Changing the Dynamics of Power Circuits from 1 to 30kV. He will provide an overview of SiC semiconductors across a wide voltage range, discuss the advantages they provide over silicon technologies, and refute the industry's common cost rebuttal by re-contextualizing the price versus performance data for SiC and silicon in a system-to-system rather than a component-to-component comparison. Palmour will also briefly discuss a few of the high-voltage devices (up to 27kV) that Cree is currently developing.

"The most common knock against silicon carbide is that it's more expensive than silicon, which it is," says Palmour. "However, a component-to-component comparison will never be wholly accurate because silicon carbide is vastly superior to silicon with regard to performance," he adds. "SiC devices make systems less expensive through their ability to operate at much higher frequencies, shrink magnetics, and simplify designs. They can also dramatically cut conduction and thermal management costs in lower-frequency applications. Further, SiC devices can even allow designers to switch from multi-level topologies down to less complex two-level designs. So, as an industry, we've got to switch the focus of this conversation from the cost of the devices to the cost versus performance metrics of the entire system."

The following Cree presentations will also be given at ECCE:

• '900V Silicon Carbide MOSFETs for Breakthrough Power Supply Design' by SiC power device application engineer Dr Adam Barkley, in Poster Session (in Exhibit Hall 220E, on 21 September 5–6:30pm and 22 September 10:30am–12pm and 3:30–5:30pm);

• 'Advances in SiC and GaN Based Devices, Packaging, and Systems', by John Palmour and director of business development Dr Ty McNutt, in Town Hall Meeting (in 518C, on 22 September 5:30–7pm);

• '3.3kV SiC MOSFET Update for Medium Voltage Applications', by power business development and program manager Dr Jeffrey Casady, in Session 524A 'Power Electronic Modules for MV/HV Applications' (23 September 2–3:40pm);

• '10–25kV Silicon Carbide Power Modules for Medium Voltage Applications', by development electronics packaging engineering manager Dr Brandon Passmore, in Session 524A 'Power Electronic Modules for MV/HV Applications' (23 September 2–3:40pm). 

Tags: Cree SiC power modules SiC MOSFET

Visit: www.cree.com/power

Visit: www.2015.ecceconferences.org/conference/plenary-sessions