Cree has introduced the industry’s first commercial silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFET. Cree’s SiC MOSFET, the CMF20120D, provides blocking voltages up to 1200V with an on-state resistance (RDSon) of just 80mΩ at 25°C. What is more, the RDSon remains below 100mΩ across its entire operating temperature range. This consistency of performance characteristics across operating conditions, along with a true MOSFET device architecture (normally-off), makes it well suited for power electronics switching circuits. Compared to commercially available silicon MOSFET or IGBT devices of similar ratings, in tests conducted by Cree the CMF20120D had the lowest gate drive energy (QG <100nC) across the recommended input voltage range. Conduction losses were minimized with forward drop (VF) of <2V at a current of 20A.
The addition of the SiC power MOSFET to Cree’s silicon carbide Schottky diode family enables power electronics design engineers to develop “all-SiC” implementations of high power switching circuits. The SiC MOSFET can be used for solar inverters, high-voltage power supplies and power conditioning. According to Cree over the next several years, SiC power switches and diodes could also expand into motor drive control, electric vehicles and wind energy applications.
Cree’s CMF20120D is suitable for high voltage applications where energy efficiency is critical. Solar inverters are an example where SiC MOSFETs can be used in both the boost and inverter sections of the DC-to-AC converters. Cree claims switching losses are decreased by more than 30 percent using SiC MOSFETs, and when combined with its SiC Junction Barrier Schottky diodes, overall system efficiency has been demonstrated at >99%.