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LATEST NEWS / PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY / SiC / WBG
STMicroelectronics Released an Advanced Galvanically Isolated Gate Drivers for IGBTs and SiC MOSFETs
2 Min ReadSTMicroelectronics’ STGAP3S family of gate drivers for silicon-carbide (SiC) and IGBT power switches combines ST’s latest robust galvanic isolation technology with optimized desaturation protection and flexible Miller-clamp architecture.
Featuring reinforced capacitive galvanic isolation between the gate-driving channel and the low-voltage control and interface circuitry, the STGAP3S withstands 9.6kV transient isolation voltage (VIOTM) with 200V/ns common-mode transient immunity (CMTI). With its state-of-the-art isolation, the STGAP3S enhances reliability in motor drives for industrial applications such as air conditioning, factory automation, and home appliances. The new drivers are also used in power and energy applications including charging stations, energy storage systems, power-factor correction (PFC), DC/DC converters, and solar inverters.
The STGAP3S product family includes different options with 10A and 6A current capability, each of them available with differentiated Under Voltage Lock-Out (UVLO) and desaturation intervention thresholds. This helps designers select the best device to match the performance of their chosen SiC MOSFET or IGBT power switches.
The Desaturation protection implements an overload and short-circuit protection for the external power switch providing the possibility to adjust the turn-off strategy using an external resistor to maximize the protection turn-off speed while avoiding excessive overvoltage spikes. The undervoltage-lockout protection prevents turn-on with insufficient drive voltage.
The driver’s integrated Miller Clamp architecture provides a pre-driver for an external N-channel MOSFET. Designers can thus leverage flexibility to select a suitable intervention speed that prevents induced turn-on and avoids cross conduction.
The available device variants allow a choice of 10A sink/source and 6A sink/source drive-current capability for optimum performance with the chosen power switch with desaturation-detection and UVLO thresholds optimized for IGBT or SiC technology. The fault conditions of desaturation, UVLO and overtemperature protection are notified with two dedicated open drain diagnostic pins.
Original – STMicroelectronics
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LATEST NEWS / PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY / SiC / WBG3 Min Read
Nexperia announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with KOSTAL, a leading automotive supplier, which will enable it to produce wide bandgap (WBG) devices that more closely match the exacting requirements of automotive applications. Under the terms of this partnership, Nexperia will supply, develop, and manufacture WBG power electronics devices which will be designed-in and validated by Kostal. The collaboration will initially focus on the development of SiC MOSFETs in topside cooled (TSC) QDPAK packaging for onboard chargers (OBC) in electric vehicles (EV).
KOSTAL Automobil Elektrik, with over a century of experience, is a key player in the global automotive industry. Nearly one in every two cars worldwide is equipped with KOSTAL’s products, including more than 4.5 million onboard chargers, contributing to advancements in electromobility. Ranked among the top 100 automotive suppliers globally, KOSTAL is recognized for its innovative, reliable, and cost-optimized solutions. Its long-standing partnerships with customers and employees reflect the company’s commitment to quality and collaboration.
“Nexperia has been a trusted supplier of silicon components to KOSTAL for many years and is delighted to enter into this strategic partnership that will now extend to wide bandgap devices”, according to Katrin Feurle, Senior Director and Head of SiC Discretes & Modules. “KOSTAL will assist in validating our devices in its charging applications, thereby providing us with the type of invaluable ‘real-world’ data that will allow us to further enhance their performance”.
“KOSTAL is extending its’ strategic SiC supply portfolio to support our growth path towards 2030 with a special dedication on E-Mobility applications for onroad and offroad applications” states Dr. Georg Mohr, Executive VP Purchasing & Supply Chain of the KOSTAL Group. “Under this strategic partnership, which reinforces our long- standing customer-supplier relationship, KOSTAL will leverage Nexperia’s expertise in wide bandgap technology, particularly their SiC MOSFETs, which we believe are among the best in the market. By sharing our insights from real-world EV charging applications, we aim to contribute to the development of even more optimized and tailored SiC devices that meet the specific demands of our next-generation solutions.”
Nexperia is among the few companies that is offering a comprehensive range of WBG semiconductor technologies, including SiC diodes and MOSFETs, as well as GaN e-mode and d-mode devices, alongside its established silicon portfolio. With a strong commitment to expanding its commercial WBG offerings, Nexperia is focused on delivering the most suitable products to meet the needs of an increasing range of applications. The company’s focus is to support the responsible use of electrical energy through innovative solutions. Nexperia continues to develop technologies that address the growing demand for efficiency and sustainability in power management.
Original – Nexperia
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GaN / LATEST NEWS / PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY / WBG2 Min Read
Infineon Technologies AG announced the launch of a new family of high-voltage discretes, the CoolGaN™ Transistors 650 V G5, further strengthening its Gallium Nitride (GaN) portfolio. Target applications for this new product family range from consumer and industrial switched-mode power supply (SMPS) such as USB-C adapters and chargers, lighting, TV, data center and telecom rectifiers to renewable energy and motor drives in home appliances.
The latest CoolGaN generation is designed as a drop-in replacement for the CoolGaN Transistors 600 V G1, enabling rapid redesign of existing platforms. The new devices provide improved figures of merit to ensure competitive switching performance in focus applications.
Compared to key competitors and previous product families from Infineon, the CoolGaN Transistors 650 V G5 offer up to 50 percent lower energy stored in the output capacitance (E oss), up to 60 percent improved drain-source charge (Q oss) and up to 60 percent lower gate charge (Q g). Combined, these features result in excellent efficiencies in both hard- and soft-switching applications. This leads to a significant reduction in power loss compared to traditional silicon technology, ranging from 20 to 60 percent depending on the specific use case.
These benefits allow the devices to operate at high frequencies with minimal power loss, resulting in superior power density. The CoolGaN Transitors 650 V G5 enable SMPS applications to be smaller and lighter or to increase the output power range in a given form factor.
The new high-voltage transistor product family offers a wide range of R DS(on) package combinations. Ten R DS(on) classes are available in various SMD packages, such as ThinPAK 5×6, DFN 8×8 , TOLL and TOLT. All products are manufactured on high-performance 8-inch production lines in Villach (Austria) and Kulim (Malaysia). In the future, CoolGaN will transition to 12-inch production. This will enable Infineon to further expand its CoolGaN capacity and ensure a robust supply chain in the GaN power market, which is expected to reach $2 billion by 2029, according to Yole Group.
A demo featuring the CoolGaN Transistors 650 V G5 will be showcased at electronica 2024 in Munich from November 12 to 15 (hall C3, booth 502).
Original – Infineon Technologies
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GaN / LATEST NEWS / PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY / WBG2 Min Read
Power Integrations introduced a new member of its InnoMux™-2 family of single-stage, independently regulated multi-output offline power supply ICs. The new device features the industry’s first 1700 V gallium nitride switch, fabricated using the company’s proprietary PowiGaN™ technology.
The 1700 V rating further advances the state-of-the-art for GaN power devices, previously set by Power Integrations’ own 900 V and 1250 V devices, both launched in 2023. The 1700 V InnoMux-2 IC easily supports 1000 VDC nominal input voltage in a flyback configuration and achieves over 90 percent efficiency in applications requiring one, two or three supply voltages.
Each output is regulated within one percent accuracy, eliminating post regulators and further improving system efficiency by approximately ten percent. The new device replaces expensive silicon carbide (SiC) transistors in power supply applications such as automotive chargers, solar inverters, three-phase meters and a wide variety of industrial power systems.
Radu Barsan, vice president of technology at Power Integrations, said, “Our rapid pace of GaN development has delivered three world-first voltage ratings in a span of less than two years: 900 V, 1250 V and now 1700 V. Our new InnoMux-2 ICs combine 1700 V GaN and three other recent innovations: independent, accurate, multi-output regulation; FluxLink™, our secondary-side regulation (SSR) digital isolation communications technology; and zero voltage switching (ZVS) without an active-clamp, which all but eliminates switching losses.”
Original – Power Integrations
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GaN / LATEST NEWS / SiC / WBG3 Min Read
Navitas Semiconductor will showcase its latest innovations at the 2024 China Power Electronics and Energy Conversion Conference and the 27th Annual Academic Conference and Exhibition of the China Power Supply Society (CPEEC & CPSSC 2024), held in Xi’an from November 8th – 11th, 2024.
At ‘Planet Navitas’ (Booth 3-011), visitors can discover the AI Power Roadmap, which showcases the world’s first 8.5 kW OCP AI data center power supply implementing GaNSafe and Gen-3 Fast SiC MOSFETs, alongside the highest power density 4.5 kW AI data center power supply on the planet. Navitas also developed the ‘IntelliWeave’ patented digital control combined with high-power GaNSafe™ and Gen 3-Fast SiC MOSFETs, optimized for AI data center power supplies, enabling PFC peak efficiencies to 99.3% and reducing power losses by 30% compared to existing solutions.
Additionally, industry-leading solutions include a 6.6kW 2-in-1 EV on-board charger (OBC) utilizing a hybrid GaNSafe and GeneSiC design and fast-charging solutions for consumer electronics with the latest GaNSlim family.
The new GaNSlim family offers a highly integrated GaN solution with autonomous EMI control and loss-less sensing that enables the industry’s fastest, smallest, and most efficient solution in an optimized DPAK-4L package, ideal for mobile, consumer, and home appliance applications up to 500 W.
Enabled by over 20 years of SiC innovation leadership, GeneSiC technology leads on performance with the Gen-3 Fast SiC MOSFETs with ‘trench-assisted planar’ technology. This proprietary technology provides world-leading performance over temperature, delivering cool-running, fast-switching, and superior robustness to support up to 3x more powerful AI data centers and faster charging EVs.
As China’s premier power electronics event, CPSSC gathers industry leaders, researchers, and enterprises to explore breakthrough technologies shaping the future of power electronics. This year’s focus is on high-efficiency, high-power density solutions. “CPSSC is a key platform to showcase Navitas’ role in advancing power electronics,” said Charles Zha, VP & GM of Navitas China. “Our GaNSafe, GaNSlim, and Gen-3 Fast SiC technologies highlight our commitment to enabling higher efficiency, faster charging, and more powerful applications, aligning with CPSSC’s vision of powering the future.”
Navitas will also present technical papers and host industrial sessions, sharing insights into GaN and SiC technologies and their real-world applications.
Navitas’ CPSSC 2024 Program Highlights:
- November 10
- Paper Presentation:
Research on Parasitic False Turn-On Behaviour of SiC MOSFETs with 0V Turn-Off Gate Voltage
13:20-13:40 | Xiangyang Zhou, Bin Li, Xiucheng Huang, Jason Zhang - Industrial Session:
Bi-Directional GaN for Improving Efficiency in Micro-Inverters
14:30-15:00 | Simon Qin, Sr. Staff Application Engineer
- November 11
- Technical Presentation:
Achieving 99.4% Efficiency in GaN-based Interleaving CrM TTP PFC
08:30-09:00 | Wenhao Yu, Sr. Application Engineer - Technology Showcase:
GaNSlim IC: Redefining Efficiency in Cost-Effective Power Supplies
10:20-10:50 | Ye Hu, Technical Marketing Manager - Industry Insights:
Opportunities and Challenges of Single-Stage Converters for On-Board Chargers
13:00-13:30 | Justin Zhu, Sr. Technical Marketing Manager
Original – Navitas Semiconductor
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LATEST NEWS / PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY / SiC / WBG2 Min Read
Many industrial applications today are transitioning to higher power levels with minimized power losses, which can be achieved through increased DC link voltage. Infineon Technologies AG addresses this challenge by introducing the CoolSiC™ Schottky diode 2000 V G5, the first discrete silicon carbide diode on the market with a breakdown voltage of 2000 V. The product family is suitable for applications with DC link voltages up to 1500 VDC and offers current ratings from 10 to 80 A. This makes it ideal for higher DC link voltage applications such as in solar and EV charging applications.
The product family comes in a TO-247PLUS-4-HCC package, with 14 mm creepage and 5.4 mm clearance distance. This, together with a current rating of up to 80 A, enables a significantly higher power density. It allows developers to achieve higher power levels in their applications with only half the component count of 1200 V solutions. This simplifies the overall design and enables a smooth transition from multi-level topologies to 2-level topologies.
In addition, the CoolSiC Schottky diode 2000V G5 utilizes the .XT interconnection technology that leads to significantly lower thermal resistance and impedance, enabling better heat management. Furthermore, the robustness against humidity has been demonstrated in HV-H3TRB reliability tests. The diodes exhibit neither reverse recovery current nor forward recovery and feature a low forward voltage, ensuring enhanced system performance.
The 2000 V diode family is a perfect match for the CoolSiC MOSFETs 2000 V in the TO-247Plus-4 HCC package that Infineon introduced in spring 2024. The CoolSiC diodes 2000 V portfolio will be extended by offering them in the TO-247-2 package, which will be available in December 2024. A matching gate driver portfolio is also available for the CoolSiC MOSFETs 2000 V.
Original – Infineon Technologies
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LATEST NEWS / SiC / WBG2 Min Read
Electric drives are becoming increasingly prevalent in the boat and ship sector. At METSTRADE, Bosch Engineering is unveiling a newly developed, high-performance electrification solution for electrical systems with voltages of up to 800 volts, which further extends the potential use cases of electric drives in maritime applications while also raising system efficiency.
“With the latest generation of our electric motor and inverter with silicon carbide power modules, we offer a complete system that allows not only recreational boats but also larger sailing yachts and working boats to be operated with an efficient, quiet, yet still very powerful electric drive,” states Philip Kurek, who is responsible for off-highway and maritime solutions at Bosch Engineering.
The new electric motor SMG 230 is designed for system voltages of 400 to 800 volts. In an ideal voltage and temperature range, it offers a continuous power output of up to 200 kilowatts and around 250 newton meters of torque. Thanks to the 800-volt technology, the power density has also been increased significantly. The SMG 230 delivers 80 kilowatts more power than a comparable 400-volt machine with identical weight or, with the same level of performance, boasts more compact dimensions and a much lower weight.
The inverter with silicon carbide semiconductors, which is also designed for electrical voltages of up to 800 volts, is characterized by its impressive efficiency of more than 99 percent. The silicon carbide semiconductors in the power modules enable faster switching operations, meaning that significantly less energy is lost in the form of heat.
Bosch’s complete kit for the electrification of boat drives comprises electronic control units, inverters, electric motors, and transmissions for both 400- and 800-volt applications. This gives shipyards and system integrators maximum flexibility when adapting the electrification strategy to the respective requirements and allows them to integrate the relevant components quickly and easily into their ships. The system components are based on modern automotive technology and combine high robustness with utmost reliability. With its comprehensive kit for the electrification of ship drives, Bosch is making a crucial contribution to the ongoing reduction of greenhouse gas and noise emissions.
Original – Bosch
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GaN / LATEST NEWS / SiC / WBG2 Min Read
At this month’s IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Expo (ECCE), Navitas Semiconductor introduced conference attendees to ‘IntelliWeave’ – an innovative patented new digital control technique for improving next generation AI data center power supply (PSU) efficiency.
In a world where ever-more energy is needed for the processing of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based applications, minimizing power consumption has become a priority for data center architects and operators. Combining next-generation GaN and SiC semiconductors with new control technique strategies to power conversion plays a key role in achieving this goal.
IntelliWeave’s novel digital control enables highest system efficiencies with precision current sharing, ultra-fast dynamic response and minimal phase error. A patented dual-loop and dual-feed-forward interleaving control achieves absolute zero voltage switching (ZVS) across the full-load range to enable highest efficiencies.
The digital control for Critical Conduction Mode (CRM) interleaving Totem Pole Power Factor Control (PFC) enables 30% reduction in power losses compared to existing Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM) solutions. The digital control combined with high-power GaNSafe power ICs has been proven on a 500 kHz GaN-based interleaving 3.2 kW CrM PFC PSU operating at 99.3% peak efficiency including EMI filter loss.
Taking place in Phoenix, Arizona from October 20th to 24th, IEEE ECCE 2024 features both industry-driven and application-oriented technical sessions and brings together practicing engineers, researchers and other professionals for interactive and multidisciplinary discussions on the latest advances in various areas related to energy conversion.
On October 21st Tao Wei presented “Novel digital control for a GaN-based CrM interleaved TP PFC”.
Original – Navitas Semiconductor