Onsemi boosts 1200V planar SiC MOSFET
Onsemi has launched a new generation of 1200V planar silicon carbide MOSFET with plans for multiple additional generations through 2030.
The onsemi EliteSiC M3e planar SiC MOSFET reduces reduce conduction losses by 30% and turn-off losses by up to 50% with an on resistance of 11mO. This can provide approximately 20% more output power in the same traction inverter housing compared to the previous m3t generation or a fixed power level can now be designed with 20% less SiC content, saving costs while enabling the design of smaller, lighter and more reliable automotive and power supply designs.
“We are applying our decades of experience in power semiconductors to push the boundaries of speed and innovation in our engineering and manufacturing capabilities to meet the rising global energy demands,” said Dr Mrinal Das, senior director of technical marketing, Power Solutions Group, onsemi. “We do plan to accelerate the offerings. We are developing M4 and we are beginning work on M5 and M6,” he said.
“We have not made the move to trench yet, but it is inevitable but this outperforms trench today,” he said. “At the end of the day is what is proven in the field and this is the most technologically mature and proven with forty years of research behind it and 15 years of use in the industry. That’s the value of using planar.”
“Trench is coming but the trench devices in the market today do not fully use the trench, for example using just one trench wall, or using a dummy trench. When you can get full trench utilisation, that is when it is worth the investment and the risk of introduction,” he said.
“There is a huge technical interdependency between the materials, device and package in silicon carbide. Having full ownership over these key aspects allows us to have control over the design and manufacturing process and bring new generations to market much faster.”
“The high critical field is achieved with thinner layers with lower resistance for lower conduction losses but the switching losses are very much dependent on the area of the device as the capacitance falls,” he said. “This gives higher switching frequencies that reduces the size and cost of the passives in the system and the efficiency means you can relax the thermal management for more power per kilowatt.”
“We are vertically integrated, starting with powder and ending with power modules,” said Das. “We leverage all of this to really drive innovation, optimised at all levels. We also have in house system expertise to not only internally vet the technologies but also be a reliable partner to our customers.”
Onsemi will ship the planar SiC MOSFET bare die to module customers and use for its own modules.
“With 18V on the gate in a 20 year vehicle life the failure rate is stable below 1ppm and the threshold voltage remains stable to within 50 to 100mV,” said Das. The m3e SiC planar MOSFET can be used with hard switching frequencies in the 100 to 200kHz range with soft switching to low MHz, he says.
“The future of electrification is dependent on advanced power semiconductors. Today’s infrastructure cannot keep up with the world’s demands for more intelligence and electrified mobility without significant innovations in power. This is critical to the ability to achieve global electrification and stop climate change,” said Simon Keeton, group president, Power Solutions Group, onsemi. “We are setting the pace for innovation, with plans to significantly increase power density in our silicon carbide technology roadmap through 2030 to be able to meet the growing demands for energy and enable the global transition to electrification.”
The EliteSiC M3e SiC MOSFET in the industry-standard TO-247-4L package is now sampling.
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