CoolSiC™ target applications
Make CoolSiC™ part of your application and benefit from
Global trends, such as clean energy, energy efficiency and electric mobility are driving demand for new power semiconductor solutions. Silicon Carbide could be an answer to some of these challenges by providing more energy from clean resources. While most of the applications surrounding us in work and private life are currently based on silicon (Si). More and more of them call for advances in efficiency, power density, and ways to overcome silicon’s performance limitations.
In some applications, the tipping point has been reached, which means replacing Si with Silicon will lead to benefits on system level such as system size-reduction and increasing power density. CoolSiC™ power modules and discretes have not only been optimized with regard to product features and packaging. They do also star when it comes to the system level - in your application.
The use of SiC based power semiconductor solutions has shown a huge increase over the last years. Driving forces behind this market development are the following trends: energy saving, size reduction, system integration and improved reliability.
CoolSiC™ in solar energy systems & (residential) energy storage systems
With CoolSiC™ MOSFET the power of a string inverter can be doubled compared to a silicon IGBT based solution 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 losses at high operating temperature are significantly lower compared to a Si solution. You can count on a maximum efficiency of more than 99 %.
Our CoolSiC™ MOSFET 650V and 1200 V are 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 silicon superjunction MOSFET to CoolSiCTM MOSFET can lead to approximately 2% extra energy without increasing battery size.
In combination solar and energy storage balance effectively and efficiently supply and demand in the renewable energy sector.
CoolSiC™ in industrial drives
CoolSiC™ MOSFET powers the next generation of servo drives design! Up to 80% loss reduction compared to Si IGBT solution is possible thanks to resistive behavior of SiC MOSFET and the load profile of servos is a perfect match. Switching loss reduction can also be achieved in all operating modes, even at the same EMC level as for IGBT solution. The result is top efficiency and passive cooling potential for fan-less implementation, with savings on maintenance effort and material. Compact integration of the drive within the motor or into a robot also becomes possible, with no more need for complex cabling.
CoolSiC™ in EV charging (DC EV chargers for off-board charging piles)
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™ in UPS
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 and reliability levels, you can lower cooling requirements and rely on keeping your maintenance and servicing costs low.
CoolSiC™ in server and telecom applications
The acceleration of digitalization around IoT and artificial intelligence requires server farms and telecom infrastructure to process an ever-increasing amount of data faster and more efficiently while keeping capital and operational expenditure low.
The CoolSiC™ MOSFET 650V from Infineon is your simple way for BOM cost savings and efficiency levels for top 98% in simplified SMPS designs such as CCM half-bridge totem pole PFC and dual-phase interleaved half-bridge LLC.
Compared to silcion, CoolSiC™ MOSFET offers 30% improved on-resistance (Ron) at 100°C , which makes CoolSiC™ the perfect fit even in harsh, fan-less and high temperature operations such as 5G small cells. Turn to CoolSiC™ MOSFETs for ease-of-use, cost-effective designs reaching top efficiency (98%) with 50% reduced losses compared to silicon and double the power density at increased system reliability for your server and telecom SMPS design.
CoolSiC™ in automotive e-mobility main inverter
SiC based power electronics for xEV main inverter is accelerating, this is especially true in premium car segmentation where high efficiency is the key. 1200 V CoolSiC™ MOSFETs implemented in the electric drive train enable a system size-reduction by up to 80% thanks to the higher power density, less cooling effort and lower number of passive components.
Although Silicon based solution will remain mainstream in the market for the next few years, SiC gains momentum. Recent WLTP study shows in 800 V battery system, SiC-based main inverter can achieve 5 – 10% more range vs. its Silicon counterpart. In addition, SiC shows lower conduction losses in light load condition compared to Si IGBTs. More and more OEMs adopt a SiC/Si co-existing topology where SiC is applied in the main inverter with rear wheel drive and Silicon in secondary inverter with front wheel drive, eventually achieving good balance between efficiency & cost.
CoolSiC™ in automotive e-mobility on-board-charger & DC-DC converter
Automotive applications are naturally size limited to provide more cabin comfort and design flexibility. This brings up requirements for sub-system integration (e.g. On-Board Charger + HV-LV DCDC), hence the trend of higher power density for all power switching applications. The OBC efficiency in the PFC and DC-DC stage has been enhanced by up to 1%, which allows for less cooling effort for our customers.
CoolSiC™ Automotive MOSFETs can sustain 800 V systems, which are required for vehicles in the fast-charging or premium segment.
The trend of bi-directional charging popular in Asia, offers the capability to use the on-board battery as storage for many use cases (e.g. camping, smart grid, emergency power-supply under earth-quake, etc.). The robust CoolSiC™ Automotive MOSFET with its thick gate oxide design results in lowest FIT rates and features longest lifetime in the application.
