3 February 2016

Wolfspeed's SiC MOSFETs enabling faster industrial battery charging while consuming less energy

Wolfspeed of Raleigh, NC, USA, a Cree Company that makes silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) wide-bandgap semiconductor devices, says that Italy-based industrial battery charger manufacturer Gruppo PBM is using Wolfspeed's SiC MOSFETs in its new HF9 battery charger family to enable higher efficiency and power density at a lower overall system cost.

Demand for safe, efficient, and fast-charging industrial batteries has increased exponentially along with the proliferation of power electronics. The HF9 product family is designed to provide the highest possible efficiency while achieving easy scalability for power ranging from 6kW to 16kW. Wolfspeed says that these benefits are made possible in part by its 1200V SiC MOSFET technology.

"We selected Wolfspeed SiC planar MOSFETs for our new HF9 battery charger family because they enabled us to improve our battery chargers while achieving operational savings, increased productivity and increased safety. This was not possible with the best IGBTs in the market," say both Marco Mazzanti and Giancarlo Ceo, who respectively serve as chief technology officer and R&D engineer at Gruppo PBM.

Gruppo PBM specializes in rugged high-frequency battery chargers, dischargers and testers. By using SiC MOSFETs in its latest HF9 family, Gruppo PBM achieves not only improved efficiency but also a reduction in component count, improving the overall reliability in the system by lowering the operating temperatures and — most importantly — reducing overall system cost, says Wolfspeed.

"Wolfspeed's SiC MOSFETs, especially our new C3M 900V family, are enjoying rapid adoption in the growing battery charger market segment," says Edgar Ayerbe, Wolfspeed's power MOSFET marketing manager. "Our products increase power density and dramatically lower switching losses, making it possible to introduce smaller, cooler and lower-cost chargers for the automotive and industrial markets," he adds.

Wolfspeed's SiC MOSFETs are commercially available in 900V, 1200V and 1700V versions in TO-247 and SMD package options. The new surface-mount package, specifically designed for high-voltage MOSFETs, has a small footprint with a wide creepage distance of 7mm between its drain and source. The new package also includes a separate driver-source connection, which reduces gate ringing and provides clean gate signals, says Wolfspeed.

See related items:

Cree names Power and RF division Wolfspeed

Cree introduces first 1200V/25mΩ MOSFET in TO-247 package

Tags: Cree SiC MOSFET

Visit: www.wolfspeed.com/power/products