System designers of traction-power units (TPUs) as well as APUs (also known as auxiliary power units (APUs) Solid-state transformers (SSTs) industrial motor drives, and energy infrastructure solutions need high-voltage switching technology in order to improve efficiency, reduce the size and weight , and improve reliability. Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: Microchip Technology Inc., MCHP) today announced the expansion of its SiC portfolio by releasing of the industry’s smallest on-resistance [RDS(on)RDS(on)] 3.3 Kilovolt SiC MOSFETs as well as the highest current-rated SiC SBDs on the market, allowing designers to benefit from robustness, reliability, and performance. With the growth of the Microchip SiC portfolio designers will have the tools necessary to design smaller and lighter solutions for electric transportation and renewable energy aerospace, industrial and other applications.
A number of silicon-based devices have reached their limits for efficiency improvement, cost reduction, and innovation in applications. Although high-voltage SiC offers a reliable alternative for these outcomes but until now there was no availability of 3.3 KV SiC powered devices has been extremely limited. Microchip’s 3.3 MOSFETs and SBDs complement the company’s broad range of SiC solutions, which comprise 700V, 1200V and even 1700V dies, discretes, modules and digital gate driver.
Microchip’s 3.3 Kilovolt SiC power devices feature MOSFETs with the industry’s smallest RDS(on) at 25mOhm as well as SBDs with the highest current rating in the market that is 90 amps. They both MOSFETs and SBDs can be purchased in package or die form. The new performance levels let designers simplify their designs, design high-power systems, and use less paralleled components to create smaller, lighter , and better-performing power systems.
“We focus on developments that provide our customers the ability to quickly innovate systems and move their end products into a competitive advantage position faster,” said Leon Gross, vice president of Microchip’s discrete products business division. “Our new family of 3.3 kV SiC power products allows customers to move to high-voltage SiC with ease, speed and confidence and benefit from the many advantages of this exciting technology over silicon-based designs.”
Microchip has introduced thousands of SiC power products and solutions for production in the past three years, which means that designers have the best voltage, current , and packaging suitable for their needs. The majority of Microchip SiC devices, including SBDs and MOSFETs have been made with the customer in mind, and feature high-end durability and ruggedness. Microchip’s products are backed by its practice of empowering customers to drive obsolescence which guarantees that the products will be made as long as the market requires they do and Microchip is able to manufacture these devices.
Customers can mix Microchip SiC products with the company’s other devices , which include 816-, 16 32-bit and 16-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) and Analog sensors controllers for gestures and touch, as well as wireless connectivity options to provide total system solutions with less overall cost.
Development Tools
The extended SiC collection is implemented by an variety of SiC SPICE models that work to Microchip’s MPLAB(r) Mindi analog simulator modules as well as driver design reference boards. The Intelligent Configuration Tools (ICT) lets designers create effective SiC gate driver configurations that Microchip’s AgileSwitch(r) collection of configurable Digital Gate Drivers.
