SiC Growth For EVs Is Stressing Manufacturing


The electrification of vehicles is fueling demand for silicon carbide power ICs, but it also is creating challenges in finding and identifying defects in those chips. Coinciding with this is a growing awareness about just how immature SiC technology is and how much work still needs to be done — and how quickly that has to happen. Automakers are pushing heavily into electric vehicles, and t... » read more

Testing Devices In Module Packages And Designing Cryogenic Current Sensors For All-Electric Aircraft


A technical paper titled “Characterizing semiconductor devices for all-electric aircraft” was published by researchers at University of Strathclyde (Glasgow) and Airbus UpNext. Abstract: "Cryogenic propulsion with hydrogen fuel cells replacing fossil fuels is a promising solution to cut carbon emissions in the aviation sector. Hydrogen will also be used for cooling the superconducting mac... » read more

Cold Plate Technology Comparison


New types of energy, such as wind and solar power, are being utilized more prevalently and hybrid cars/buses are being identified as a means of reducing carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the use of fossil fuels. Electronic systems like frequency converters for wind power and train utilization are required to provide ever higher levels of energy savings. As such, IGBT (insulated-gate bipol... » read more

Ramping Up Power Electronics For EVs


The rapid acceleration of the power devices used in electric vehicles (EVs) is challenging chipmakers to adequately screen the ICs that power these vehicles.[1] While progress toward autonomous driving is grabbing the public’s attention, the electrification of transportation systems is progressing quietly. For the automotive industry, this shift involves a mix of electronic components. Amo... » read more

When Less Can Be More With Smart Module Design: Part 1


Size and power often seem like opposite sides of a coin. When you reduce size – one of the ever-pressing goals in our industry – you inevitably reduce power. But does that have to be the case? By shifting our thinking from the chip to the module design, there’s no need to flip a coin. In IGBT modules, chip shrinkage leads to an increased thermal impedance, which then impacts performanc... » read more

Application and Verification of Effective Heat Spreading Angles on a Multi-Layer Thermal Design


Abstract: "When designing converters, the average junction temperature of the semiconductor is a frequently required estimate. Its analytical calculation requires the total thermal resistance of the cooling arrangement. Unfortunately, due to the complexity of the heat dissipation processes, an estimate of the thermal resistance is usually associated with low accuracy. To significantly improve ... » read more

Short-Circuit Ruggedness In SiC MOSFETs


Trench-based silicon carbide power MOSFETs (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors) represent a dramatic improvement in the Figure of Merit (FOM) values of power conversion switching devices. As a result, outstanding system performance is achieved, enabling higher efficiency, power density, and reduced system cost for many applications. Today, for major target applications for S... » read more

Fabs Drive Deeper Into Machine Learning


Advanced machine learning is beginning to make inroads into yield enhancement methodology as fabs and equipment makers seek to identify defectivity patterns in wafer images with greater accuracy and speed. Each month a wafer fabrication factory produces tens of millions of wafer-level images from inspection, metrology, and test. Engineers must analyze that data to improve yield and to reject... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: June 7


High-voltage superjunction SiC devices The University of Warwick and Cambridge Microelectronics have presented a paper on the latest effort to develop of a new type silicon carbide (SiC) power device called a SiC superjunction Schottky diode. Researchers have simulated and optimized the development of 4H-SiC superjunction Schottky diodes at a voltage class of 1700 volts, aiming for breakdow... » read more

The Ins And Outs Of Silicon Carbide


John Palmour, CTO at Cree, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about silicon carbide, how it compares to silicon, what's different from a design and packaging standpoint, and where it's being used. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: SiC is well-understood in power electronics and RF, but is the main advantage the ability to run devices hotter than silicon, or is ... » read more

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