Technical Insight
Infineon powers up new range of SiC applications (Nitride News)
Infineon (Munich, Germany) is to begin volume production of a new range of SiC Schottky diodes for power applications (see ). SiC enables power devices that block voltages up to 3500 V (more than 10 times that of GaAs) due to a combination of material properties, including a high Schottky barrier, higher electrical breakdown field strength, and the ability to dissipate heat due to a thermal conductivity comparable to copper. These characteristics result in low leakage currents, low on-resistance, and high current densities, offering higher voltage operation in switched mode power supplies and power factor correction for applications such as PCs, servers and base stations. The company s new diodes feature blocking voltages of 300 and 600 V variants in compact transistor outline 220 and TO263 surface-mount packages. As a result of the low switching losses, the diodes can operate at high switching frequencies without complex resonant switching circuits, heat sinks and cooling fans. The development of these devices is discussed in detail on page 45. "An essential advantage of Infineon s SiC technology is that it enables almost loss-free and very fast switching diodes," said Reinhard Ploss of Infineon s Automotive and Industrial business group. "This not only reduces overall losses, but also improves reliability and lowers system costs."
