SiC MOSFET intelligent power module for E-mobility

Co-optimising the electrical, mechanical and thermal design of the power module and its proximity control, this new scalable platform will improve time-to-market for Electric Car OEMs and electric motor manufacturers willing to rapidly adopt SiC-based inverters for more efficient and compact motor drives. With this SiC-based IPM solution, CISSOID maintains its focus on addressing challenges for automotive and industrial markets.

The first product out of this scalable platform, a three-Phase 1200V/450A SiC MOSFET IPM, features low conduction losses, with 3.25mOhms On resistance, and low switching losses, with respectively 8.3mJ turn-on and 11.2mJ turn-off energies at 600V/300A. It reduces losses by at least a factor three with respect to state-of-the-art IGBT power modules. The new module is water-cooled through a lightweight AlSiC pin-fin baseplate for a junction-to-fluid thermal resistance of 0.15°C/W. The power module is rated for junction temperature up to 175°C. The IPM withstands isolation voltages up to 3600V (50Hz, 1min).

The built-in gate driver includes three on-board isolated power supplies (one per phase) delivering each up to 5W allowing to easily drive the power module up to 25KHz and at ambient temperatures up to 125°C. Peak gate current up to ten amp and immunity to high dV/dt (>50KV/µs) enable fast switching of the power module and low switching losses. Protection functions such as Undervoltage Lockout (UVLO), Active Miller Clamping (AMC), Desaturation Detection and Soft-Shut-Down (SSD) ensure the safe drive and reliable operation of the power module in case of fault events.

"Developing and optimising fast-switching SiC Power Modules and driving them reliably remains a challenge," said Dave Hutton, CEO at CISSOID. "With this new SiC Intelligent Power Modules, which is the outcome of years of experience in the development of power modules and gate drivers for extreme temperature and voltage environments, we are happy to deliver our first IPM samples to early SiC adopters and to support the automotive industry in its transition towards highly efficient E-mobility solutions."