Advantages of Silicon Carbide Mosfets

Silicon Carbide MOSFETs outperform Si IGBT transistors when it comes to high voltage applications like smart energy vehicles and industrial machinery, offering superior power performance versus IGBT transistors in terms of power performance, heat dissipation and temperature range. Furthermore, their reliability exceeds that of IGBTs as well.

When applied at the gate, when positive voltage is applied to p-type silicon surface holes are attracted away by its electric field and leave behind an empty region called depletion zone.

High Voltage

Silicon carbide MOSFETs feature high voltage ratings and perform exceptionally in various electronic circuit designs due to their energy-saving attributes and effective heat dissipation abilities.

They feature lower ON resistance and operate at higher frequencies than traditional silicon-based power devices – often the bottleneck for modern systems – providing significant benefits in terms of reduced component size and system efficiency.

SiC power devices boast superior electrical parameters compared to silicon devices, including lower RDSon and operating temperature performance, making them suitable for demanding applications like traction inverters, welding machines, renewable energy systems and charging stations, IT data centers as well as rugged environments such as welding booths. Their superior reliability and lifespan make them extremely popular among engineers – this factor alone accounts for their rising popularity among engineers.

High Current

Silicon Carbide MOSFETs allow power devices to handle high currents efficiently, which is crucial as this enables higher switching frequencies that reduce inductive and capacitive component requirements in power circuit design.

SiC MOSFETs operate by drawing current between their source and drain terminals, which is enabled by applying positive voltage to their gates; this creates an electric field which draws electrons from its top p-region into a conductive channel, placing it into its “on” state. Conversely, applying zero or negative voltage reverses this effect, stopping current flow and placing the device back in its “off” state.

As SiC MOSFETs are unipolar devices (involving only electrons flowing through n-type semiconductor regions for current flow), they can be switched on at relatively low drain-source voltages with very little on-state resistance; resulting in faster switching times.

Low On-Resistance

Silicon carbide mosfets are designed for use in harsh environments and make an excellent addition to traction inverters, motor drives, solar power and backup power systems. Their higher efficiency compared to silicon devices allows for smaller systems within a smaller footprint footprint while offering greater power than more powerful silicon devices alone.

SiC MOSFETs can reach much higher blocking voltages than IGBTs (up to 1200V), however their drain-to-source (VDS) signal must be carefully managed on high side switches in order to avoid an overvoltage which could lead to significant Joule heating and damage of their device. Therefore, accurate validation measurements using an oscilloscope with accurate probes and dead times is required for proper management.

Tektronix provides an array of tools for validating the performance of power semiconductors, including MOSFETs. Explore more with our new application note – Effective Measurement of MOSFET Signals in SiC Power Electronics

Low Leakage

Silicon Carbide MOSFETs feature lower leakage current than their silicon counterparts, enabling faster switching speeds and minimizing overall energy losses in power systems.

SiC MOSFETs are more resistant to thermal runaway than standard silicon power MOSFETs and IGBTs, allowing them to operate effectively even under warmer ambient temperatures without additional cooling components. This makes SiC MOSFETs particularly suitable for industrial and automotive applications where precise object positioning or tool arm movement requires high servo motor control for accurate positioning or movement.

GeneSiC’s third-generation Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFET portfolio boasts state-of-the-art packages and bare die, offering ratings from 650 V to 6.5 kV, making them suitable for hard and resonant switching topologies, driving IGBTs efficiently, and leading to significant weight and size reduction.