This微波和RFarticle is reprinted here with permission.
Electric vehicles are getting larger and heavier, and that’s not just about SUVs and pickups. We’re starting to see commercial transport vehicles go electric: trucks, trams, buses, and so on. Those vehicles, as well as other industrial and transportation applications like auxiliary power systems, solar inverters, and solid-state transformers, need charging systems that rely on high-voltage switching power devices.
当今的硅绝缘栅双极晶体管（IGBT）在此类应用中存在缺陷。作为硅IGBT的替代方案，Microchip技术通过高效率，高可靠性，1700-V SIC MOSFET模具，离散和电源模块扩展了其碳化硅（SIC）设备组合。
硅IGBT要求设计师损害性能并使用复杂的拓扑，这是由于IGBT效率低下而导致开关频率的限制。另外，电源电子系统的尺寸和重量被变压器肿，只能通过增加开关频率来减小大小。
新的碳化硅产品家族允许工程师超越IGBT，而是使用具有降低的零件计数，更高效率和更简单的控制方案的两级拓扑。没有切换限制，电力转换单元的尺寸和重量可以大大减小，为更多充电站腾出空间，额外的乘客和货物的空间，或者延长重型车辆，电动公交车和其他电池的范围和操作时间- 能力的商用车 - 全部系统成本降低。
功能包括栅氧化层稳定的尺寸hip observed no shift in threshold voltage even after an extended 100,000 pulses in repetitive unclamped inductive switching (R-UIS) tests. R-UIS tests also showed excellent avalanche ruggedness and parametric stability and with gate oxide stability, demonstrated reliable operation over the life of the system. The degradation-free body diode can eliminate the need to use an external Schottky diode with the silicon carbide MOSFET. A short-circuit withstand capability comparable to IGBTs survives harmful electrical transients. A flatter RDS（ON）curve over junction temperature from 0° to 175°C enables the power system to operate at greater stability than other silicon carbide MOSFETs that exhibit more sensitivity to temperature.
Microchip streamlines the adoption of its technology with a family of AgileSwitch digital programmable gate drivers and wide range of discrete and power module packaging, available in standard and customizable formats. These gate drivers help speed silicon carbide development from benchtop to production.
To aid in system development, silicon carbide SPICE simulation models compatible with Microchip’s MPLAB Mindi analog simulator provide system developers with resources to simulate switching characteristics before committing to hardware design. The Intelligent Configuration Tool (ICT) enables designers to model efficient silicon carbide gate driver settings for AgileSwitch digital programmable gate drivers.
Microchip’s 1700V silicon carbide MOSFET die, discrete, and power modules are available now for order in a variety of package options.
