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ROHM and STMicroelectronics announced the expansion of the existing multi-year, long-term 150mm silicon carbide (SiC) substrate wafers supply agreement with SiCrystal, a ROHM group company. The new multi-year agreement governs the supply of larger volumes of SiC substrate wafers manufactured in Nuremberg, Germany, for a minimum expected value of $230 million.
Geoff West, EVP and Chief Procurement Officer, STMicroelectronics, commented “This expanded agreement with SiCrystal will bring additional volumes of 150mm SiC substrate wafers to support our devices manufacturing capacity ramp-up for automotive and industrial customers worldwide. It helps strengthen our supply chain resilience for future growth, with a balanced mix of in-house and commercial supply across regions”.
“SiCrystal is a group company of ROHM, a leading company of SiC, and has been manufacturing SiC substrate wafers for many years. We are very pleased to extend this supply agreement with our longstanding customer ST. We will continue to support our partner to expand SiC business by ramping up 150mm SiC substrate wafer quantities continuously and by always providing reliable quality”.said Dr. Robert Eckstein, President and CEO of SiCrystal, a ROHM group company.
Energy-efficient SiC power semiconductors enable electrification in the automotive and industrial sectors in a more sustainable way. By facilitating more efficient energy generation, distribution and storage, SiC supports the transition to cleaner mobility solutions, lower emissions industrial processes and a greener energy future, as well as more reliable power supplies for resource-intensive infrastructure like data centers dedicated to AI applications.
Original – STMicroelectronics
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STMicroelectronics unveiled L99H92 automotive gate driver which provides an SPI port for programming and diagnostics, a charge pump, protective features, and two additional current-sense amplifiers for system monitoring.
Containing two high-side and two low-side drivers, the L99H92 can control a single H-bridge powering one bidirectional DC motor or two half bridges for two unidirectional motors. Typical applications for the highly integrated and easily configurable driver include electric sunroof, window lift, powered trunk, sliding doors, and seat-belt pre-tensioners.
The charge pump powers the high-side drivers to maintain correct operation as the vehicle battery voltage fluctuates, enabling the outputs to function with a supply as low as 5.41V. The charge-pump output is also available at an external pin to control a MOSFET for reverse-battery protection.
The gate-driving current is programmed through the SPI port, allowing slew-rate control to minimize electromagnetic emissions and thermal dissipation. Programming the current saves up to four external discrete components per MOSFET, typically needed for slew-rate setting with conventional drivers. The maximum drive current of 170mA gives designers flexibility to use the driver with a wide variety of external MOSFETs, including high-power devices with large gate capacitance.
With many features for system protection and diagnostics, the L99H92 is built for reliability and safety. There is overcurrent protection with a programmable threshold, detected by monitoring the MOSFET drain current. Also, cross-conduction protection with programmable dead time ensures safety and efficiency. Additional protection includes overtemperature early warning and shutdown, overvoltage and undervoltage protection on analog and digital power supply inputs, and open-load and output short-circuit detection in off-state diagnostic mode.
A fail-safe input can turn off all MOSFETs instantaneously and a dedicated diagnostic pin provides immediate fault warning without waiting for periodic SPI transfers.
Additionally, two current-sense amplifiers are integrated for system-status monitoring, helping minimize the bill of materials. Suitable for high-side, low-side, and inline sensing, the amplifiers have independently programmable gain, low offset, and low thermal drift. They can be independently disabled to reduce current consumption when unused.
Original – STMicroelectronics
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Wolfspeed, Inc. issued the following statement in response to the letter from JANA Partners (“JANA”) to Wolfspeed’s Board of Directors:
Wolfspeed’s Board of Directors and management team maintain an open dialogue with, and value constructive input from, our shareholders. The company continually evaluates options to enhance long-term value and is committed to acting in the best interests of all our shareholders. The Wolfspeed Board will carefully review JANA’s letter, and we look forward to engaging with them in the near future.
Original – Wolfspeed
