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Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) announced the launch of the EPC91104, a high-performance 3-phase BLDC motor drive inverter reference design. This innovative design is ideal for powering compact, precision motors in humanoid robots, such as those used for wrist, finger, and toe movements.
The EPC91104 evaluation board uses the EPC23104 ePower™ Stage IC, offering a maximum RDS(on) of 11 mΩ and supporting DC bus voltages up to 80 V. The design supports up to 14 Apk steady-state and 20 Apk pulsed current, ensuring reliable performance for humanoid robot applications that require fine motor control and precision.
Key Features of the EPC91104
- Wide Voltage Range: Operates between 14 V and 80 V, accommodating a variety of battery systems
- Compact Design: Suitable for space-constrained robotics
- Advanced Protection: Includes overcurrent and input undervoltage protection, ensuring reliability in demanding applications
- Optimized Efficiency: Low-distortion switching reduces torque ripple and motor noise
Humanoid robots demand motors with precision and compactness, and the EPC91104 is specifically designed to meet those needs for applications like small joint actuation,
said Alex Lidow, CEO of EPCFor higher-current requirements, such as elbow and knee motors in humanoid robots, EPC offers the EPC9176 board in the same family. With enhanced current capacity, the EPC9176 complements the EPC91104 to cover a full range of motor drive applications in humanoid robotics.
The EPC91104 is compatible with controller boards from leading manufacturers, including Microchip, Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics, and Renesas, offering engineers flexibility in development. It is equipped with comprehensive sensing and protection features, ensuring rapid prototyping and testing.
Original – Efficient Power Conversion
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SemiQ Inc. announced a family of 1700 V SiC MOSFETs designed to meet the needs of medium-voltage high power conversion applications, such as photovoltaic and wind inverters, energy storage, EV and road-side charging, uninterruptable power supplies, and induction heating/welding.
The high-speed QSiC™ 1700 V switching planar D-MOSFETs enable more compact system designs at large scale, with higher power densities and lower system costs. They feature a reliable body diode, capable of operation at up to 175oC, with all components tested to beyond 1900 V, and UIL avalanche tested to 600 mJ.
The QSiC 1700 V devices are available in both a bare die form (GP2T030A170X), and as a 4-pin TO-247-4L-packaged discrete (GP2T030A170H) with drain, source, driver source and gate pins. Both are also available in an AEC-Q101 automotive qualified version (AS2T030A170X and AS2T030A170H).
The MOSFETs deliver low switching and conduction losses, low capacitance and feature a rugged gate oxide for long-term reliability, with 100 percent of components undergoing wafer-level burn in (WLBI) to screen out potentially weak oxide devices.
SemiQ has also announced a series of three modules as part of the family to simplify system design, this includes a standard-footprint 62 mm half-bridge module housed in an S3 package with an AIN insolated baseplate, as well as two SOT-227 packaged power modules.
The QSiC 1700 V series’ bare die MOSFET comes with an aluminum (Al) top side and nickel/silver (Ni/Ag) bottom side. Both it and the TO-247-4L packaged device have a power dissipation of 564 W, with a continuous drain current of 83 A (at 25oC, 61A at 100oC) and a pulsed drain current of 250 A (at 25oC). They also feature a gate threshold voltage of 2.7 V (at 25oC, 2.1 V at 125oC), an RDSON of 31 mΩ (at 25oC, 57 mΩ at 125oC), a low (10n A) gate source leakage current and a fast reverse recovery time (tRR) of 17 ns. The TO-247-4L package has a junction to case thermal resistance of 0.27oC per watt.
The two 4-pin power modules are housed in a 38.0 x 24.8 x 11.7 mm SOT-227 design and deliver an increased power dissipation of 652 W with an increased continuous drain current of 123 A (at 25oC – GCMX015A170S1E1) and 88 A (at 25oC GCMX030A170S1-E1). In addition to low switching losses, both modules have a low junction-to-case thermal resistance of 0.19oC and 0.36oC per watt and feature an easy-mount design for direct mounting of the isolated package to a heatsink.
The half-bridge module is housed in a 61.4 x 106.4 x 30.9 mm 9-pin S3 package and delivers a power dissipation of 2113 W with a continuous drain current of 397 A and a pulsed drain current of 700 A. In addition to low switching losses, the GCMX005A170S3B1-N module has a junction to case thermal resistance of 0.06oC per watt.
Original – SemiQ
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MCC Semi introduced the first high-voltage MOSFET with Kelvin source pin in the compact DFN8080A package. Designed to help engineers balance costs and performance, 600V MSJL120N60FH leverages superjunction technology and an integrated FRED body diode to facilitate high-speed switching and recovery.
Its low gate charge and RDS(on) of only 100Ω (typ.) significantly improve switching speeds and reduce losses in a range of demanding applications. Featuring junction-to-case thermal resistance of 0.47K/W, this MOSFET assures reliable operation in high-temp environments, making it an intelligent choice for motor drives, solar inverters, industrial controllers, and power supplies.
With a height of less than 1mm, its low-profile DFN8080A package is well-suited for high-frequency applications where space is limited, and performance is mission-critical.
For engineers looking to boost efficiency and minimize losses, MSJL120N60FH boasts the perfect combination of features for high-voltage, space-constrained scenarios.
Features & Benefits:
- Superjunction technology: Enhances efficiency by reducing on-state resistance.
- Low on-resistance: Minimizes power dissipation at 100mΩ (typ.).
- Low conduction losses: Improves overall system efficiency.
- Low gate charge: Facilitates increased switching speeds.
- Kelvin source pin: Dramatically reduces switching losses while enhancing efficiency.
- Excellent thermal resistance: Junction-to-case thermal resistance of 0.47K/W ensures stable operation amid demanding conditions.
- Integrated FRED body diode: Reduces reverse recovery time for improved switching.
- High-speed switching: Optimal for high-frequency applications.
- Compact package size: DFN8080A package with a low-profile height of less than 1mm, perfect for space-constrained designs.
Original – Micro Commercial Components
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Renesas Electronics Corporation introduced new 100V high-power N-Channel MOSFETs that deliver industry-leading high-current switching performance for applications such as motor control, battery management systems, power management and charging. End products include electric vehicles, e-bikes, charging stations, power tools, data centers, uninterruptable power supplies (UPS) and more.
Renesas has developed a new MOSFET wafer manufacturing process (REXFET-1) that enables the new devices to drastically reduce on-resistance (the resistance between the drain and source when the MOSFET is on) by 30 percent. The lower on-resistance contributes to much lower power loss in customer designs.
The REXFET-1 process also enables the new MOSFETs to offer a 10 percent reduction in Qg characteristics (the amount of charge needed to apply voltage to a gate), and a 40 percent reduction in Qgd (the amount of charge that needs to be injected into the gate during the “Miller Plateau” phase).
In addition to superior electrical characteristics, Renesas’ new RBA300N10EANS and RBA300N10EHPF MOSFETs are available in industry-standard TOLL and TOLG packages that are pin-compatible with devices from other manufacturers, and 50 percent smaller than traditional TO-263 packages. The TOLL package also offers wettable flanks for optical inspection.
“Renesas has been a leader in the MOSFET market for many years,” said Avi Kashyap, Vice President of Discrete Power Solutions BU at Renesas. “As we apply our manufacturing muscle to this market, we can provide customers with superior technical products, as well as assurance of supply from multiple high-volume facilities.”
Renesas has combined the new MOSFETs with numerous compatible devices from its portfolio to offer a wide array of Winning Combinations, including among others, 48V Mobility Platform and 3-in-1 Electric Vehicle Unit: Inverter, Onboard Charger, DC/DC Converter. These designs are technically vetted system architectures from mutually compatible devices that work together seamlessly to bring an optimized, low-risk design for faster time to market.
Renesas offers more than 400 Winning Combinations with a wide range of products from the Renesas portfolio to enable customers to speed up the design process and bring their products to market more quickly. They can be found at renesas.com/win.
Original – Renesas Electronics
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Toyoda Gosei’s technology to enhance GaN substrates has been verified to improve power device performance. An article confirming it was published in Physica Status Solidi (RRL) – Rapid Research Letters, an international scientific journal for solid state physics.
Better power devices are indispensable for CO2 reduction in society, as they regulate electric power everywhere. Switching material from silicon to gallium nitride enables 90% energy-saving, superior devices, for which mass production of larger quality GaN substrates is requisite.
The Japanese Ministry of the Environment is leading a project for broad application of GaN power devices, for which Toyoda Gosei is providing technology to obtain ideal GaN crystals. One outcome of the project is a demonstrable improvement in power device performance with a GaN substrate fabricated on a GaN seed crystal that Toyoda Gosei jointly developed with Osaka University. Compared to power devices made on commercially-available substrates, power devices using these GaN substrates show higher performance in both power regulation capacity and yield ratio.
Toyoda Gosei will continue collaborating with government, universities, and other corporations for earlier dissemination of large quality GaN substrates.
Original – Toyoda Gosei
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Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that it will begin shipping samples of two new S1-Series High Voltage Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (HVIGBT) modules, both rated at 1.7kV, for large industrial equipment such as railcars and DC power transmitters from December 26. Thanks to proprietary Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) devices and insulation structures, the new modules offer excellent reliability and low power loss and thermal resistance, which are expected to increase the reliability and efficiency of inverters in large industrial equipment.
Mitsubishi Electric’s 1.7kV HVIGBT modules, first released in 1997 and highly regarded for their excellent performance and high reliability, have been widely adopted for inverters in power systems.
The new S1-Series modules incorporate Mitsubishi Electric’s proprietary Relaxed Field of Cathode (RFC) diode, which increases the Reverse Recovery Safe Operating Area (RRSOA) by 2.2 times compared to previous models for improved inverter reliability. In addition, the use of an IGBT element with a Carrier Stored Trench Gate Bipolar Transistor (CSTBT) structure helps reduce both power loss and thermal resistance for more efficient inverters.Furthermore, Mitsubishi Electric’s proprietary insulation structure increases the insulation voltage resistance to 6.0kVrms, 1.5 times that of previous products, resulting in more flexible insulation designs for compatibility with a wide range of inverter types.
Original – Mitsubishi Electric
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Littelfuse, Inc. announced the launch of its TPSMB Asymmetrical TVS Diode Series, the first-to-market asymmetrical transient voltage suppression (TVS) diode specifically designed for the protection of Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFET gate drivers in automotive applications.
This innovative product addresses the increasing demand for reliable overvoltage protection in next-generation electric vehicle (EV) systems, delivering a compact, single-component solution that replaces multiple Zener diodes or TVS components traditionally used for gate driver protection. View the video.
The TPSMB Asymmetrical TVS Diode Series provides superior protection for SiC MOSFET gate drivers, which are prone to overvoltage events due to faster switching speeds compared to traditional silicon-based MOSFETs or IGBTs. The unique asymmetrical design of the TPSMB Series supports SiC MOSFETs’ differing positive and negative gate driver voltage ratings, ensuring enhanced performance in a variety of demanding automotive power applications where SiC MOSFETs are used, including:
- Onboard chargers (OBCs)
- EV traction Inverters
- I/O interfaces
- Vcc buses
These applications demand high-performance overvoltage protection (OVP) for SiC MOSFET gate drivers to ensure optimal performance, longevity, and efficiency.
Charlie Cai, Director of Product Management, Protection Business, Littelfuse, emphasizes the value this product brings to automotive engineers: “The TPSMB Asymmetrical TVS Diode Series offers an innovative solution for SiC MOSFET gate driver protection, eliminating the need for multiple components and simplifying the design process for engineers. Its compact, reliable design ensures that critical automotive power systems are safeguarded against overvoltage events, supporting the continued advancement of electric vehicles and other high-performance applications.”
The TPSMB Asymmetrical Series Surface-Mount TVS Diode offers the following key features and benefits:
- A Single-Component SiC MOSFET Gate Driver Protection: Eliminates the need for multiple Zener or TVS diodes, streamlining design and reducing component count.
- Asymmetrical Gate Driver Voltage Protection: Designed to protect SiC MOSFET gate drivers, which require different negative and positive voltage ratings.
- Compact Design: Available in a DO-214AA (SMB J-Bend) package, the series is ideal for space-constrained automotive designs.
- Automotive-Grade Quality: AEC-Q101-qualified, ensuring the highest reliability for automotive applications.
- High Power Dissipation: 600W peak pulse power dissipation (10×1000μs waveform) offers robust protection against transient overvoltage events.
- Low Clamping Voltage: VC < 10 V @ 30 A (8/20 µs) for optimal negative gate drive protection.
- Wide Frequency Stability: Stable capacitance across a wide operating frequency range, up to 2 MHz, making it ideal for SiC MOSFET applications.
- Compatible with Leading SiC MOSFETs: Suited for use with Littelfuse and other market-leading automotive SiC MOSFETs.
Original – Littelfuse
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X-FAB Silicon Foundries SE has launched XSICM03, its next-generation XbloX platform, advancing Silicon Carbide (SiC) process technology for power MOSFETs, delivering significantly reduced cell pitch, enabling increased die per wafer and improved on-state resistance without compromising reliability.
XbloX is X-FAB’s streamlined business process and technology platform designed to accelerate the development of advanced SiC MOSFET technology. It integrates qualified SiC process development blocks and modules for planar MOSFET production, simplifying the onboarding process and significantly reducing design risks and product development time.
By combining proven process modules with robust design rules, control plans, and FMEAs, XbloX enables faster prototyping, easier design evaluation, and shorter time to market. This approach gives customers a competitive edge, allowing designers to create a diverse product portfolio while achieving production timelines up to nine months faster than traditional development methods.
This next generation platform provides active area design cell size reduction while maintaining robust process controls, as well as leakage and breakdown device performance. The XSICM03 platform with robust design rules allows customers to create SiC planar MOSFETs with a cell pitch that is over 25% smaller than the previous generation.
This improvement allows for up to a 30% increase in die per wafer compared to the previous generation. Leveraging proven process blocks, the platform ensures exceptional gate oxide reliability and device robustness. The enriched PCM library and enhanced design support allow for fast customer tape-out, resulting in faster product development.
Rico Tillner, CEO, X-FAB Texas explains: “With its streamlined approach, our next-generation process platform addresses the increasing demand for high-performance SiC devices in automotive, industrial, and energy applications. We enable existing and new customers in creating application-optimized product portfolios through accelerated prototyping and design evaluation, significantly reducing time to market.”
The next generation platform XSICM03 is now available for early access.
Original – X-FAB Silicon Foundries
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Nexperia announced the launch of 16 new 80 V and 100 V power MOSFETs in the innovative copper-clip CCPAK1212 package, delivering industry-leading power density and outright performance. The innovative copper-clip design provides high current conduction, reduced parasitic inductance, and excellent thermal performance. These features make the devices ideal for motor control, power supplies, renewable energy systems, and other power-hungry applications.
The range also includes application-specific MOSFETs (ASFETs) designed for AI server hot-swap functions. With top-side and bottom-side cooling options, these MOSFETs in CCPAK provide high power density and reliable solutions. All devices are supported by JEDEC registration and Nexperia’s interactive datasheets for seamless integration.
The benchmark PSMN1R0-100ASF is a 0.99 mΩ 100 V power MOSFET capable of conducting 460 A and dissipating 1.55 KW of power, yet in a CCPAK1212 package footprint that occupies only 12mm x 12mm of board space. The PSMN1R0-100CSF offers similar statistics in a top-side cooled version.
The secret to this impressive performance is the internal construction of the devices. The “CC” in CCPAK1212 stands for copper clip, meaning that the power MOSFET silicon die is sandwiched between two pieces of copper, the drain tab on one side and the source clip on the other. With wire bonds entirely eliminated, such an optimized assembly offers a low on-resistance, reduced parasitic inductances, high maximum current ratings and excellent thermal performance.
CCPAK1212 NextPower 80/100 V MOSFETs are recommended for power-hungry industrial applications where high efficiency and high reliability are critical, including brushless DC (BLDC) motor control, switched-mode power supplies (SMPS), battery management systems (BMS) and renewable energy storage. The availability of such power-capable MOSFETs in a single package reduces the need for parallelism, simplifying designs and offering more compact, cost-effective solutions.
The Nexperia CCPAK1212 announcement also includes some new application specific MOSFETs (ASFETs) targeting the hot-swap function in increasingly powerful AI servers. These devices feature an enhanced safe operating area (SOA), providing superior thermal stability during linear mode transitions.
Across all these applications, the availability of top-side and bottom-side cooling options provides engineers a choice of thermal extraction techniques, especially helpful where dissipating heat through the PCB is impractical due to the sensitivity of other components.
“Despite offering market-leading performance, we know that some customers will be reticent to design-in a relatively new package”, stated Chris Boyce, Product Group General Manager at Nexperia. “For this reason, we have registered the CCPAK1212 with the JEDEC standards organization (reference MO-359). We followed a similar approach when we introduced the first LFPAK MOSFET package some years ago and as a result there are now many compatible devices available in the market. You are never on your own for long when your innovations offer genuine value to your customers”, concluded Boyce.
All the new CCPAK1212 MOSFET devices are supported with a range of advanced design-in tools, including thermally compensated simulation models. Traditional PDF datasheets are supplemented with Nexperia’s user-friendly interactive datasheets, which now incorporate a new “graph-to-csv” feature that allows engineers to download, analyze and interpret the data behind each device’s key characteristics. This not only streamlines the design process but enhances confidence in design choices.
Nexperia plans to extend CCPAK1212 packaging to power MOSFETs across all voltage ranges and also to its automotive qualified AEC-Q101 portfolios, addressing the evolving demands of next-generation systems with the highest current and thermal performance requirements.
Original – Nexperia
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DISCO Corporation has announced a comprehensive series of initiatives aimed at advancing both its environmental goals and technological innovations. As a leader in precision cutting and grinding technologies, the company continues to shape the future of semiconductor manufacturing with a dual focus on sustainability and cutting-edge product development.
The company has intensified its focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies, introducing initiatives designed to enhance operational sustainability. By optimizing energy usage and reducing emissions, DISCO aims to minimize its environmental footprint while supporting global efforts toward decarbonization. These measures also include resource-efficient manufacturing processes that align with DISCO’s long-term vision for sustainable growth.
As part of its product lineup expansion, DISCO introduced the ZHSC25 and Z25 dicing blades. Specifically engineered for advanced applications, these tools represent significant advancements in semiconductor processing. The ZHSC25 blade is tailored for high-performance dicing of SiC wafers, a critical material in power electronics due to its superior heat resistance and efficiency. Meanwhile, the Z25 blade is optimized for a broad range of electronic components, offering manufacturers unprecedented processing speed and accuracy. These innovations demonstrate DISCO’s dedication to addressing evolving industry demands.
DISCO’s recent initiatives reflect a holistic approach to industry leadership, combining a commitment to ESG principles with groundbreaking innovation. By aligning technological advancements with sustainability objectives, the company aims to contribute to both the semiconductor industry’s growth and global sustainability efforts.
With these strategic updates, DISCO Corporation continues to exemplify its vision of harmonizing technology and sustainability to address the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly evolving global market.
The company plans to present its new offerings at SEMICON Japan 2024, one of the largest events in the semiconductor industry. This platform will enable DISCO to highlight the impact of its latest technologies and sustainability measures, reinforcing its role as an industry pioneer. Visitors to the exhibit will gain insights into how these developments are poised to enhance efficiency and quality in semiconductor manufacturing.
Original – DISCO
