Silicon Carbide (SiC)

Silicon Carbide (SiC) devices belong to the so-called wide band gap semiconductor group. They offer a number of attractive characteristics for high voltage power semiconductors when compared to commonly used silicon (Si). In particular, the much higher breakdown field strength and thermal conductivity of SiC allow creating devices which outperform by far the corresponding Si ones. This way you can reach unattainable efficiency levels in your designs.

The portfolio comprises CoolSiC™ MOSFET modules and discretes, CoolSiC™ Schottky diodes as well as CoolSiC™ hybrid modules.
Get the most out of your design by combining them with the suitable EiceDRIVER™.

The combination of a fast silicon based switch with a SiC diode – is often termed a “hybrid” solution. In recent years Infineon has manufactured several millions of hybrid modules and has seen them installed in various customer products in applications like e. g. solar and UPS. Our CoolSiC™ MOSFETs are built on a state-of-the-art trench semiconductor process optimized to allow for both lowest losses in the application and highest reliability in operation.

Combining revolutionary Silicon Carbide (SiC) technology with extensive system understanding, best-in-class packaging, and manufacturing excellence, Infineon CoolSiC™ enables you to develop radical new product designs with best system cost-performance ratio.

Read about how Silicon carbide (SiC) transistors are increasingly used in power converters, placing high demands on the size, weight and efficiency. The outstanding material properties of SiC enable the design of fast switching unipolar devices as opposed to bipolar IGBT devices. Thus, solutions which have been only possible in the low-voltage world (< 600 V), are now possible at higher voltages as well.

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Advanced design activities are focusing on the field of specific on-resistance as the major benchmark parameter for a given technology. However, it is essential to find the right balance between the primary performance indicators like resistance and switching losses and the additional aspects relevant for actual power electronics designs, e.g. sufficient reliability

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Silicon Carbide trench based MOSFETs are the next step towards and energy-efficient world – representing a dramatic improvement in power conversion systems.

Read all about how Infineon controls and assures the reliability of SiC based power semiconductors during the release process to achieve the desired lifetime and quality requirements.

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The SiC web forum provides you with a platform for exchanging ideas with the community, asking our Silicon Carbide experts for advice and for sharing your experience with CoolSiC™ MOSFET modules and discretes.

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Ultra-fast switching power transistors such as CoolSiC™ MOSFETs can be easier handled by means of isolated gate output sections. Therefore, the galvanically isolated EiceDRIVER™ ICs based on Infineon’s coreless transformer technology are recommended as most suitable.

> More about our EiceDRIVER™ ICs for Silicon Carbide MOSFETs

The use of SiC based power semiconductor solutions has shown a huge increase over the last years, it is a revolution to rely on. Driving forces behind this market development are the following trends: energy saving, size reduction, system integration and improved reliability.

Over the next few years, SiC solutions will expand into other application fields such as industrial or traction drives. The reasons for this are the market forces pushing for loss reduction, not only for the sake of improved efficiency but also for smaller packages – resulting from reduced heat sink requirements. SiC is already being used for high end and niche solutions. Today’s designs use these benefits to reduce system cost in specific application areas.

CoolSiC™ MOSFET 1200 V in fast EV Charging

CoolSiC™ MOSFET cuts charging time in half at the same charging station and footprint. One 1200 V SiC MOSFET is sufficient to support a DC-link voltage of 800 V. Doubling the power density allows a component count reduction of a comparable Si solution by 50% thanks to doubled voltage in the switch positions. Due to 50% lower conduction and switching losses from lower Coss the overall efficiency can be increased which lowers the cooling effort.

CoolSiC™ MOSFET 1200V in Solar applications

With CoolSiC^TM MOSFET the power of a string inverter can be doubled at the same inverter weight. CoolSiC™ allows a power density increase by factor 2,5, e.g. from 50 kW (Si) to 125 kW (SiC) at a weight of less than 80 kg, so it can be carried by two assemblers. Furthermore, the efficiency reduction at high operating temperature is significantly lower compared to a Si solution. You can count on a maximum efficiency of more than 99 %.

CoolSiC™ MOSFET 1200V in Industrial Power Supplies

Our CoolSiC™ MOSFET offers highest efficiency and cuts energy losses in half in 24/7 operation of online UPS systems. Heatsinks and filters can be reduced, making size, floor footprint and enclosure smaller. Using CoolSiC™ MOSFETs in a high power UPS will improve the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) over 5 years operating time: by reaching highest efficiency levels, you can lower cooling requirements rely on keeping your maintenance and servicing costs low.

CoolSiC™ MOSFET 1200V in Servo Drives

CoolSiC™ MOSFET powers the next generation of servo drives design! Up to 80% of total loss reduction is enabled by more than 50% switching loss reduction as well as an 80% reduction of low current conduction loss by resistive behavior. There is no more need for a cooling fan since passive cooling is sufficient, therefore reducing your maintenance effort to a minimum. On the other hand, CoolSiC™ enables motor and drive integration making complex cabling redundant.

CoolSiC™ MOSFET 1200V in Energy Storage Systems

Our CoolSiC™ MOSFET 1200 V cutting losses by 50% for extra energy. As the battery bank makes up the major portion of the total system costs for Energy Storage Systems, a change from super-junction MOSFET to 1200 V CoolSiC^TM MOSFET can lead to approx. 2% extra energy without increasing battery size.

Automotive CoolSiC™ MOSFET 1200V in Inverter Applications

Automotive CoolSiC™ MOSFET 1200V offers low switching losses and lower conduction losses (at light-load conditions) which enables a high efficiency in the traction inverter applications. For HEVs and PHEVs, this helps to bring down the CO2 emission levels. For BEVs, this results in up to 10% improvement in driving range for a given battery size. Conversely, the battery can be down sized for a given range.     

Automotive CoolSiC™ MOSFET 1200V in On-Board Charger (OBC) Applications

The low switching losses of the Automotive CoolSiC™ MOSFET 1200V makes it very attractive for On-Board Charger (OBC) systems which typically are fast-switching, high switching frequency applications (<65kHz). Not only does this enable a high efficiency design, but also the possibility to go to higher switching frequencies in order to down-size the passives, thereby yielding a high power density.  Furthermore, the Mosfet channel can conduct in the forward direction as well as in the reverse direction, enabling efficient bi-directional chargers.