Date
05/22/2018
PDF
ALISO VIEJO, Calif.— 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.
Microsemi’s 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 and data center markets. This reference design adds to the company’s overall SiC solutions portfolio, which can also be used for HEV/EV charging, conductive/inductive onboard charging (OBC), DC-DC converters, EV powertrain/traction controls, photovoltaic (PV) inverters and actuation applications.
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.
For more information, visit https://www.microsemi.com/product-directory/discretes/3613-silicon-carbide-sic
