Rohm develops SiC power MOSFET with internal Schottky barrier diode
Rohm Semiconductor has unveiled a 1200V SiC power mosfet designed for inverters and converters in power conditioners for industrial devices and photovoltaic power generation.
The SCH2080KE integrates an SiC MOSFET and Schottky barrier diode into a single package, to minimise forward voltage that was problematic in previous SiC power MOSFET body diodes.
According to the company, the SCH2080KE reduces operating power losses by at least 70% compared to Si IGBTs used in general inverters. This not only provides lower switching losses, but also enables compatibility with smaller peripheral components by supporting frequencies above 50kHz.
Current Si IGBTs commonly used in 1200Vclass inverters and converters cause power switching loss due to tail current or recovery of the external FRD, bringing a need for SiC power MOSFETs capable of operating with low switching loss at high frequencies.
However, conventional SiC power MOSFETs were plagued with numerous reliability problems, including characteristic degradation due to body diode conduction and failures of the gate oxide film, making full-scale integration impossible.
Rohm says it has succeeded in overcoming these problems by improving processes related to crystal defects and device structure, and reducing ON resistance per unit area by approximately 30% compared to conventional products, leading to increased miniaturisation.
There is also the SCT2080KE, an SiC power MOSFET with no internal SiC Schottky barrier diode. Both the SCH20801KE and SCT2080KE can be configured based on customer requirements.
