IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - September 2021 - 60

LMG3525R030-Q1, it reduces the size of electric vehicle
(EV) onboard chargers by 50% compared to existing silicon
or SiC solutions, claims TI. According to applications
manager Ramanan Natarajan, " fast switching integrated
gate driver enables a 59% reduction in the size of
power magnetics in EV chargers. An industrial version
includes a 600 V GaN FET.
Also, demonstrating 650 V GaN FET was Nexperia.
The company announced volume availability of its secondgeneration
650 V power GaN FETs, offering significant
performance advantages over previous technologies and
competitive devices. With RDS(on) performance down to
35 mΩ (typical), the new power GaN FETs target single
phase ac-dc and dc-dc industrial switched mode power
supplies (SMPS), ranging from 2 kW to 10 kW, especially
server and telecoms supplies that must meet 80 PLUS
Titanium efficiency regulations. Meanwhile, the supplier
also announced partnership with renowned automotive
engineering consulting company, Ricardo, to produce
a technology demonstrator for an EV inverter based on
GaN technology. To boost production capacity at all its
facilities while supporting research & development in
GaN power ICs, the company announced an investment of
US$700 million.
Efficient Power Conversion Corp. (EPC) unveiled its
first low-voltage rad hard eGaN FET that has been specifically
designed for critical applications in the high reliability
or commercial satellite space environments. It is supplied
only in passivated die form with solder bumps. The die size
is 0.9- × 0.9-mm (Figure 4).
Die size: 0.9 mm × 0.9 mm
According to EPC CEO Alex Lidow, these devices have
exceptionally high electron mobility and a low temperature
coefficient resulting in very low RDS(on) values. The lateral
structure of the die provides for very low gate charge (QG)
and extremely fast switching times. These features enable
faster power supply switching frequencies resulting in
higher power densities, higher efficiencies and more compact
designs.
Advances in SiC FETs
Concurrently, TI also released an automotive compliant
15-A isolated IGBT/SiC MOSFET gate driver UCC5870-Q1
for use in HEV/EV applications. Key features include
adjustable " on the fly " gate drive strength, split driver
outputs provide 15-A source and 15-A sink current.
Japan's ROHM Semiconductor introduced the industry's
first ac-dc converter IC with a built-in 1700 V SiC
MOSFET (BM2SC12xFP2-LBZ) in the TO263-7L package.
The device is optimized for industrial applications, offering
efficiency, shortening design time, simplifying the circuitry
and reducing additional components by offering an
integrated solution. These ICs also increase product
reliability by minimizing the risk of component failure.
Eyeing EV market, ON Semiconductor announced a
pair of 1200 V SiC MOSFET 2-pack half-bridge modules
60 IEEE POWER ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE z September 2021
for charging applications. While the NXH010P120MNF1
is a 10 mΩ device housed in an F1 package while the
NXH006P120MNF2 is a 6 mΩ device in an F2 package.
The packages feature press-fit pins making them ideal for
industrial applications and an embedded negative temperature
coefficient (NTC) thermistor facilitates temperature
monitoring. The new SiC MOSFET modules have
been designed to work alongside driver solutions such as
the NCD5700x devices, as well as the recently introduced
NCD57252 dual channel isolated IGBT/MOSFET gate driver.
It offers 5 kV of galvanic isolation and can be configured for
dual low-side, dual high-side or half-bridge operation.
Others displaying their SiC products include UnitedSiC,
GeneSiC Semiconductor, Mitsubishi Electric amongst others.
Aiming to efficiently serve the EV on-board chargers
and server/telecom power supplies applications, GeneSiC
released its high performing 750 V SiC MOSFETs. Dr. Ranbir
Singh, president of GeneSic said that the 750 V SiC MOSFETs
are supported by fast turn-around and automotivequalified
high volume manufacturing to further enhance
the value proposition.
New Magnetics
In the magnetics arena, makers like Bourns, Magnetics,
CorePower Magnetics, Coilcraft and others continued to
release new material and products to meet the demands
of improved efficiency and higher saturation. Magnetics,
for instance, described its new amorphous and nanocrystalline
cores. While Coilcraft unveiled a new line of high
performance power inductors with 40% lower dc resistance
and extremely low ac losses for dc-dc converters
switching at frequencies up to 5 MHz. Concurrently, suppliers
like Bourns, Magnetics, and Standex exploited
exhibitor seminars to display their capabilities. Bourns,
for example, presented power and signal magnetics
solutions in battery management systems (BMS) in session
#ES5. In this session, Bourns products application
engineer Kyle Moldenhauer talked about selecting the
right transformer for a high-voltage signal isolation in
BMS. Besides identifying isolation transformers for BMS
application, he talked about safety and isolation, as well
separation requirements based on safety standards.
Additionally, he stated that topology selection affects
transformer operation. Likewise, in session #ES16,
" Magnetics' Next Gen Powder Core Materials, Bourns
introduced new powder core materials, such as Edge
and Kool Mu HF for best dc performance and higher
switching frequencies.
Taking all the adversities into account, APEC organizers
and vendors did a fantastic job in creating a successful
virtual APEC 2021 for the power electronics community.
With vaccinations against SARS-COVID-2 underway, international
travel resuming, and large gatherings permitted,
we all are looking forward to the in-person event in 2022,
which will take place in Houston, Texas.
IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - September 2021

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