The electrification of everything is driving the growth of SiC semiconductors as large market segments such as E-Mobility, sustainability and industrial turn to SiC power solutions because of its fast-switching capabilities, lower power loss and higher temperature performance. To help power design engineers transition to SiC power solutions with ease, speed and confidence, Microchip Technology (Nasdaq: MCHP) today announces its MPLAB® SiC Power Simulator that quickly evaluates Microchip’s SiC power devices and modules across various topologies before committing a design to hardware.
Microchip’s MPLAB SiC Power Simulator is a PLECS-based software environment designed in collaboration with Plexim to provide an online complimentary tool that eliminates the need to purchase a simulation license. The MPLAB SiC Power Simulator accelerates the design process of various SiC-based power topologies. Customers can confidently benchmark and evaluate SiC solutions in the design phase.
“Customers who are pursuing SiC technology can now use the web-based MPLAB SiC Power Simulator to benchmark and select the best Microchip SiC product for their design,” said Clayton Pillion, vice president of Microchip’s silicon carbide business unit. “With over two decades of investment in silicon carbide, Microchip provides our customers with versatile power solutions in its SiC portfolio that can easily be designed with other Microchip companion devices.”
The tool can speed up time to market by delivering a comprehensive SiC evaluation that not only provides valuable benchmarking data but also reduces component selection times. A power electronics designer deciding between a 25 mΩ and 40 mΩ SiC MOSFET for a three-phase active front end converter can get immediate simulation results, such as average power dissipation and peak junction temperature of the devices.
The MPLAB SiC Power Simulator is a critical design tool for OEMs designing power systems for E-Mobility, sustainability and industrial applications that include electric vehicles, on/off-board charging, power supplies and battery storage systems.
Microchip’s SiC portfolio includes industry-leading power module packaging with the lowest parasitic inductance (<2.9 nH), and industry-leading 3.3 kV discrete MOSFETs and diodes with the highest current ratings available. The SiC portfolio also includes 700V, 1200V and 1700V die, discretes and modules, as well as AgileSwitch configurable digital gate drivers.
These SiC devices offer the ruggedness and performance to deliver gate oxide lifetimes that are predicted to be in excess of 100 years and degradation-free body diodes. SiC technology provides higher system efficiency, power density and temperature stability over silicon Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) in high-power applications.