News: Microelectronics
15 September 2020
Mitsubishi to launch second-generation full-SiC power modules for industrial use
Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Electric Corp is to launch second-generation full-SiC (silicon carbide) power modules featuring a newly developed SiC chip for industrial use.
The low-power-loss characteristics and high-carrier-frequency operation of the SiC-MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor) and SiC-SBD (Schottky barrier diode) chips in the modules are expected to facilitate the development of more efficient, smaller and lighter-weight power equipment in various industrial fields. Sales will begin in January 2021.
Specifically, the junction field-effect transistor (JFET) doping technology reduces on-resistance by about 15% compared with that of conventional SiC products (e.g. Mitsubishi Electric’s first-generation SiC modules, with the same rating, for industrial use).
Reducing the mirror capacitance (i.e. the stray capacitance between the gate and drain in a MOSFET structure) enables fast switching and reduces the switching loss.
The built-in SiC-MOSFET and SiC-SBD help to reduce power loss by about 70% compared with that of Mitsubishi Electric’s conventional silicon insulated-gate bipolar transistor (Si-IGBT) modules.
Power-loss reduction and high-carrier-frequency operation will facilitate the development of smaller and lighter external components, such as reactors and coolers, reckons Mitsubishi Electric.
