Microsemi Corporation announced the availability of its new scalable 30-kilowatt (kW), three-phase Vienna power factor correction (PFC) topology reference design featuring its Silicon Carbide (SiC) diodes and MOSFETS. Developed in collaboration with North Carolina State University (NCSU), the scalable, user-friendly solution is ideally suited for fast electric vehicle (EV) charging and other high power automotive and industrial applications, providing customers with more efficient switching as well as high avalanche/repetitive unclamped inductive switching (UIS) and high short-circuit withstand ratings when utilizing the company’s robust SiC MOSFETs and diodes. The active rectifier PFC reference design, along with other solutions in the SiC product family, will be demonstrated June 5-7 in hall 6, booth 318 at PCIM Europe 2018, held at the Exhibition Centre in Nuremberg, Germany.
“As the automotive market transitions toward more hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and battery electric cars, SiC allows for better efficiency, resulting in better mileage. This continues to drive high demand for these SiC devices in our portfolio, as well as our other high-reliability product offerings,” said Leon Gross, vice president and business unit manager for Microsemi’s Discrete and Power Management group. “After successfully releasing our SiC MOSFET and diode product portfolio over the past few years, our new three-phase three-switch three-level PFC reference design is a concrete example of how to leverage these parts in demanding applications that showcase its ruggedness, high performance and overall value.”
Microsemi’s user-friendly 30 kW three-phase PFC reference design includes design files for use with the company’s next-generation SiC diodes and MOSFETS, open source digital control software and a user guide. The topology offers advantages over single-phase PFC and two-level, six-switch boost pulse width modulated (PWM) rectifier designs, which include operation in continuous conduction mode with extremely low distortion, reduced switching losses on power devices of approximately 98 percent for high efficiency and a compact form factor compared to Si/IGBT solutions.
The reference design also offers a detailed 3-D mechanical and thermal design with an integrated fan and cooling channel to reduce thermal resistance and total system size. Its printed circuit board (PCB) layout was developed with considerations for safety, current stress, mechanical stress and noise immunity, and the reference design package features ready-to-use hardware and verified open source software to reduce the technical risk of high power switching designs while accelerating product time to market.
In addition to its suitability for fast EV/HEV chargers and high power three-phase power supplies in the automotive and industrial markets, Microsemi’s new active three-phase PFC reference design can also be used in medical, aerospace, defense
Market research firms including IndustryARC and Technavio expect the EV power electronics market will grow between a 19 percent to 33 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2021, with the adoption of wideband gap semiconductors including SiC devices increasing due to their high operating temperature capability and efficiency for EV powertrain, DC-DC converters, charging and switching power supply applications.
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