Microsemi to Develop State-of-the-Art 1.7kV and 3.3 kV SiC MOSFETS and Diodes

Microsemi, a leading provider of semiconductor solutions, has become a member of PowerAmerica- a manufacturing institute comprising public and private representatives. The aim is to accelerate the commercialization and adoption of wide band gap semiconductors.

Microsemi has been awarded the contract as part of PowerAmerica’s USD 70 Million backed from the U.S. Department of Energy over five years. The allocation promotes adoption of advanced semiconductor components made with silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) into a wide range of products and systems.

Under the contract, Microsemi will focus on supporting the commercialization of 1.7 kilovolt (kV) and 3.3 kV SiC MOSFETs and SiC Schottky diodes as it develops next-gen devices. With benefits of higher efficiency, high temperature/voltage operational stability, better power handling and smaller form factors, the 1.7 kV and 3.3 kV devices will expand the number of applications where SiC technology can be used.

Apart from the ideal applications like industrial, aerospace, and defense, the target applications also include automotive electrification, railway, aerospace actuation systems, power generation, solar inverters, motor drive, and electromagnetic railgun.

Key features of Microsemi’s 1.7 kV and 3.3 kV SiC devices will include:

 Highly reliable at 175 degrees Celsius.

 AEC-Q101 qualified.

 Specific Rds(on) targeted to be less than 7 mohm.cm2 for the 1.7 kV MOSFETs, the lowest known among available products in the market.

 Avalanche energy rating (UIS) of over 15J/cm2, making the device highly rugged for industrial and automotive applications and the highest known UIS rating for any 1.7 kV SiC MOSFET.

 Short circuit withstand time (SCWT) of ~5us, the longest for devices in the 1.7 kV class today, ensuring safe operation/shut-off under fault conditions.

About Microsemi

Microsemi Corporation offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor and system solutions for aerospace & defense, communications, data center and industrial markets. Products include high-performance and radiation-hardened analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, FPGAs, SoCs and ASICs; power management products; timing and synchronization devices and precise time solutions, setting the world’s standard for time; voice processing devices; RF solutions; discrete components; enterprise storage and communication solutions, security technologies and scalable anti-tamper products; Ethernet solutions; Power-over-Ethernet ICs and midspans; as well as custom design capabilities and services.