SiC family solutions deliver industry-leading efficiency

onsemi has released 'EliteSiC' as the name of its SiC family. This week, the company showcased three new members of the family – the 1700V EliteSiC MOSFET and two 1700V avalanche-rated EliteSiC Schottky diodes – at CES in Las Vegas. The new devices offer reliable, high-efficiency performance for energy infrastructure and industrial drive applications.

With the 1700V EliteSiC MOSFET, the company provides higher breakdown voltage (BV) SiC solutions, needed for high-power industrial applications. The two 1700V avalanche-rated EliteSiC Schottky diodes enable designers to deliver stable high-voltage operation at elevated temperatures while providing high efficiency enabled by SiC.

“By providing best-in-class efficiency with reduced power losses, the new 1700V EliteSiC devices reinforce the high standards of superior performance and quality for products in our EliteSiC family as well as further expand the depth and breadth of onsemi’s EliteSiC,” said Simon Keeton, executive vice president and general manager, Power Solutions Group, onsemi. “Together with our end-to-end SiC manufacturing capabilities, onsemi offers the technology and supply assurance to meet the needs of industrial energy infrastructure and industrial drive providers.”

Renewable energy applications consistently move to higher voltages with solar systems from 1100V to 1500V DC Buses. To support this change, customers need MOSFETs with a higher BV. The new MOSFET delivers a maximum Vgs range of -15V/25V, making it suited for fast switching applications where gate voltages are increasing to -10V, providing increased system reliability.

At a test condition of 1200V at 40A, the MOSFET attains a gate charge (Qg) of 200nC – which is market-leading compared to equivalent competitive devices closer to 300nC. A low Qg is critical to gaining high efficiency in fast switching, high-power renewable energy applications.

At a BV rating of 1700V, the EliteSiC Schottky diode devices provide enhanced margin between the maximum reverse voltage and the peak repetitive reverse voltage of the diode. The new devices also offer outstanding reverse leakage performance with a maximum reverse current of only 40µA at 25C and 100µA at 175C – particularly better than competitive devices that are often rated at 100µA at 25C.