In a move that heralds a performance revolution in energy efficient
power electronics, Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a market leader in silicon
carbide (SiC) power devices, has introduced the industry’s first
fully-qualified commercial silicon carbide power MOSFET. This
establishes a new benchmark for energy efficient power switches and can
enable design engineers to develop high voltage circuits with extremely
fast switching speeds and ultralow switching losses.
The SiC MOSFET can be used today for solar inverters, high-voltage power
supplies and power conditioning in many industrial power applications.
Over the next several years, SiC power switches and diodes could also
expand into motor drive control, electric vehicles and wind energy
applications. The market for power semiconductors in these applications
is estimated at approximately $4 billion today, reaching nearly $6
billion by 2015.
The addition of the SiC power MOSFET to Cree’s world-class silicon
carbide Schottky diode family enables power electronics design engineers
to develop “all-SiC” implementations of critical high power switching
circuits and systems with levels of energy efficiency, size and weight
reduction that are not achievable with any commercially available
silicon power devices of comparable ratings.
“This introduction of our SiC power MOSFET represents many years of
materials research, process development and device design,” said John
Palmour, Cree co-founder and chief technology officer, Power and RF.
“But the end result is that the industry’s first ‘ideal’ high voltage
switching device is no longer a future technology – it is commercially
available and ready for design-in today. Together with our 600V, 650V,
1200V and 1700V SiC Schottky diodes, Cree Power has established a new
class of SiC power components that are destined to lead the power
semiconductor industry in the years to come, and eventually replace
silicon devices in the majority of critical power electronics
applications with breakdown voltage requirements of 1200V or higher.”
“Cree’s release of the SiC MOSFET represents a major step forward in
power technology and enables a new standard in performance and
reliability to be reached,” said Per Ranstad, Product Manager at Alstom
Power - Thermal Services in Sweden. “At Alstom, we have been working
with Cree to demonstrate the capabilities of this new device, in
particular seeing its impact on energy efficiency in power systems, and
we are definitely excited by the results we have achieved to date.”
Cree’s SiC MOSFET, the CMF20120D , provides blocking voltages up to
1200V with an on-state resistance (RDSon) of just 80mΩ at 25°C.
Setting Cree’s SiC MOSFET apart from comparable silicon devices, 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
ideal 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 CMF20120D SiC MOSFET provides significant advantages over silicon
devices, enabling unprecedented system efficiency and/or reduced system
size, weight and cost through its higher frequency operation. It can
meet or beat silicon MOSFET switching speeds and reduce switching losses
in many applications by up to 50 percent.
Compared to the best silicon IGBTs, the Cree device improves system
efficiency up to 2 percent and operates at 2-3 times the switching
frequencies. Higher component efficiency also results in lower operating
temperatures. Combining these lower operating temperatures with the
CMF20120D’s ultra-low leakage current (<1μA) adds significantly to
system reliability.
SiC MOSFET Applications in Power Electronics
Cree’s CMF20120D is ideal 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. Switching losses are decreased by more than 30 percent using
SiC MOSFETs; and when combined with Cree’s SiC Junction Barrier Schottky
diodes, overall system efficiency has been demonstrated at >99%.
Similar efficiency benefits can be achieved in other applications that
require high blocking voltages in combination with fast, efficient
switching, such as industrial motor drives, high power DC data center
power architectures, PFC (power factor correction), boost and high
frequency DC/DC conversion circuits in industrial, and computing and
communications power systems. In addition to potential efficiency gains,
the low switching losses of Cree’s SiC MOSFETs and diodes can enable
design optimization at switching frequencies up to three times those
built with commercially available silicon devices.
Cree’s Leadership in SiC Technology
“Silicon carbide technology is critical to developing the next
generation of advanced, energy-efficient power electronic system
designs,” explained Cengiz Balkas, Cree vice-president and general
manager, Power and RF. “We believe that the addition of the industry’s
first commercial SiC MOSFET will speed the development of smaller,
faster, lighter and more efficient power devices in certain critical
power device applications, with the potential to reduce global electric
power consumption. This MOSFET is the first SiC MOSFET product that Cree
plans to release, drawing on our technology and patent base.”
Cree has been a recognized leader in SiC MOSFET process and design
development for more than 20 years, demonstrating the first vertical SiC
MOSFET devices; the first SiC MOSFETs at >600V; the highest voltage
MOSFETs ever fabricated (10kV); and numerous processing developments to
enhance SiC MOS interface quality and reliability. Cree has been awarded
more than 50 patents on SiC MOSFET technologies, with numerous patents
pending.
The CMF20120D power devices are fully qualified and released for
production. Samples are available now from Digi-Key (www.digi-key.com).
For samples and more information about Cree’s 1200V devices or any of
Cree’s 600V, 1200V and 1700V SiC Schottky diodes, visit www.cree.com/power.
About Cree
Cree is a market-leading innovator of semiconductor solutions for
wireless and power applications, lighting-class LEDs, and LED lighting
solutions.
Cree’s product families include power-switching devices and
radio-frequency/wireless devices, blue and green LED chips,
high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, and LED fixtures and
bulbs. Cree solutions are driving improvements in applications such as
variable-speed motors, wireless communications, general illumination,
backlighting and electronic signs and signals.
For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com
This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks
and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results
to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ
materially due to a number of factors, including the risk that we may be
unable to manufacture these products with sufficiently low cost to offer
them at competitive prices or with acceptable margins; the risk that we
may be unable to develop and commercialize additional SiC power MOSFET
products necessary to serve all of the market opportunities identified
in this release; the risk we may encounter delays or other difficulties
in ramping up production of our new products; customer acceptance of the
new products; the rapid development of new technology and competing
products that may impair demand or render Cree’s products obsolete; and
other factors discussed in Cree’s filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year
ended June 27, 2010, and subsequent filings.
Cree is a registered trademark of Cree, Inc.
Cree, Inc.
Michelle Murray, 919-313-5505
Corporate
Communications
michelle_murray@cree.com