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Power device solutions for highly efficient power supplies
Authors & Affiliations
Ralf Siemieniec, René Mente, Matteo Kutschak, Francesco Pulsinelli
Power & Sensor Systems
Infineon Technologies Austria AG
Villach, Austria
DOI
https://doi.org/10.14311/ISPS.2021.008
Abstract
Switched mode power supplies (SMPS) for target applications covering a wide range from telecom
rectifiers through servers to solar inverters or electric vehicle chargers share the need for high
efficiencies in order to minimize the overall energy consumption and the total cost of ownership. With
the appearance of wide bandgap semiconductors designers cannot only choose between different
devices but also may benefit from using advanced topologies. This work compares important
properties of a CoolSiC™ Silicon-Carbide MOSFET, a CoolGaN™ E-mode GaN power transistor, a
TRENCHSTOP 5™ IGBT accompanied by a SiC Schottky diode and a CoolMOS™ Superjunction (SJ)
device, and discusses an approach to avoid the limitations of SJ devices with respect to hard
commutation of the body diode and evaluates the achievable efficiency in the AC-DC conversion stage
of a power supply.
Keywords:
power semiconductor, super-junction, wide bandgap, MOSFET, IGBT, SMPS