News: Microelectronics
9 March 2022
ROHM’s SiC MOSFETs chosen by EV firm Lucid for on-board charging
Japan-based ROHM Semiconductor says that California-based luxury electric vehicle (EV) company Lucid is using its silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (SiC MOSFET) in its first car, the Lucid Air, for which customer deliveries are now underway.
The Wunderbox, the main on-board charging unit in the Lucid Air, integrates a DC-DC converter and the bi-directional on-board charger (OBC), where a power factor correction (PFC) circuit is capable of operating at high switching frequencies due to the performance of the SiC MOSFET. The improved performance of ROHM’s SCT3040K and SCT3080K SiC MOSFETs at high frequency and high temperature has helped Lucid to reduce the size of the design, and to reduce power losses, which results in high charging efficiency.
Produced at Lucid’s new factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, the Lucid Air is a luxury sedan underpinned by race-proven technology, and was named the 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Year. Additionally, an article in InsideEVs confirmed the Lucid Air’s charging capabilities. For example, when connected to DC fast chargers, they found it takes about 22 minutes to deliver a charge that will enable select Lucid Air models to cover 300 miles. The SiC MOSFET-switched OBC can deliver up to 19.2KW AC charging, adding up to 80 miles of range per hour.
“It was important for Lucid to form strategic alignments with key EV power device suppliers to ensure our future success,” says Eric Bach, senior VP of product and chief engineer, Lucid Group. “ROHM is one of the world’s leading suppliers of SiC technology, with strong technical support. We were impressed with ROHM’s strategic investments to increase the production capacity of SiC products, and its development of next-generation technologies,” he comments. “Lucid values the close collaborative relationship with ROHM in this work.”
“We are excited to help Lucid develop systems for electric vehicles that maximize the potential of ROHM’s SiC MOSFETs,” says Kazuhide Ino, ROHM’s managing executive officer, CSO and director of accounting & finance headquarters. “ROHM will continue to strengthen its SiC device lineup, delivering power solutions - such as the charging systems featured in the Lucid Air - that contribute to technological innovation in next-generation automobiles,” he adds. “New products soon to be added include gate driver ICs that maximize device performance.”
