Microchip’s Cure-Resistant Silicon Carbide Power Solutions Replace Silicon IGBTs

Microchip's 1700V silicon carbide technology is an alternative to silicon IGBTs. Previous technologies required designers to make performance compromises and use complex topologies as silicon IGBT loss issues limited switching frequency. Furthermore, the size and weight of power electronic systems are bloated by transformers and can only be reduced by increasing switching frequency.

’s new silicon carbide family enables engineers to move away from IGBTs and instead use a two-level topology with fewer parts, higher efficiency, and simpler control schemes. Without switching constraints, the size and weight of the power conversion unit can be significantly reduced, freeing up space to build more charging stations, providing more room to carry paying passengers and cargo, or extending the range and operating time of heavy-duty vehicles, electric buses and other battery-powered commercial vehicles, all of which can reduce overall system costs.

Microchip, said: "System developers in the transportation field are constantly being asked to accommodate more people and cargo in vehicles that cannot get larger. One of the best ways to help achieve this goal is to significantly reduce the size and weight of power conversion equipment by utilizing high-voltage silicon carbide power devices. Applications in the transportation industry can also bring similar benefits to many other industry applications."

New product features include gate oxide stability, with Microchip observing no threshold voltage drift during repeated unclamped inductive switching (R-UIS) testing, even after extended to 100,000 pulses. R-UIS testing also showed excellent avalanche solidification resistance and parameter stability, as well as gate oxide stability, enabling reliable operation over the lifetime of the system. Degradation-Resistant Body Diode Utilizing silicon carbide MOSFETs eliminates the need for external diodes. Withstands harmful electrical transients with short-circuit withstand capability comparable to IGBTs. In the junction temperature range of 0 to 175 degrees Celsius, the flatter RDS(on) curve enables more stable operation of the power system compared to more temperature-sensitive silicon carbide MOSFETs. The application of

Microchip simplifies technology adoption with its AgileSwitch® digital programmable gate driver family and a variety of discrete and power modules in standard and customizable formats. These gate drivers help accelerate silicon carbide development from experimentation to production.

Microchip's other silicon carbide products include a family of 700V and 1200V MOSFETs and Schottky barrier diodes, available in bare die and in a variety of discrete and power module packages. Microchip combines in-house silicon carbide die production with low-inductance power packaging and digital programmable gate drivers to enable designers to create the most efficient, compact and reliable end products. The

Microchip's total system solutions also include microcontrollers (MCUs), analog and MCU peripherals, and communications, wireless and security technology products.

Development Tools

Silicon carbide SPICE simulation models compatible with Microchip's MPLAB® Mindi™ analog simulator provide system developers with a resource to simulate switching characteristics before committing to hardware design. The Intelligent Configuration Tool (ICT) enables designers to model high-efficiency silicon carbide gate drivers for Microchip’s AgileSwitch® family of digital programmable gate drivers.