The latest silicon carbide solutions by ON Semiconductor minimize parasitics and thermal resistance leading to reduced power losses.
US-based chip supplier ON Semiconductor Corp (onsemi), announced that its latest silicon carbide power modules will be used in Kia Corporation’s EV6 GT model.
ON said that its EliteSiC power modules enable high-efficiency power conversion from the DC 800 V of the battery to the AC drive for the rear axle allowing an electric vehicle (EV) to accelerate to higher speeds in less time. Kia’s EV6 GT claims to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and can be driven up to a speed of 161 mph.
ON introduced its silicon carbide family, EliteSiC, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday. It unveiled three new silicon carbide-based solutions – a 1700 V EliteSiC MOSFET and two 1700 V avalanche-rated EliteSiC Schottky diodes. The company said that its new devices provide reliable, high-efficiency performance for energy infrastructure and industrial drive applications.
The company said that its latest solutions minimize parasitics and thermal resistance and offer robust package reliability through interconnects. This leads to reduced power losses associated with DC to AC conversion along with the reduced size and weight of the traction inverter, increasing performance and EV range by 5%.
“Our collaboration with HMC/KIA is rooted in the superior performance of our EliteSiC technology,” said Simon Keeton, executive vice president and general manager, of Power Solutions Group, ON. “As important is our quickly growing, vertically integrated SiC supply chain that allows onsemi to plan for the necessary scale to support high-volume production for EVs,” he added.
ON’s latest announcement comes two months after it completed the acquisition of silicon carbide crystal material producer, GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT), for $415 million in cash.
