On December 2, the FIA-sponsored EV event 'Formula E Championship 2017-2018 (Season 4)' opener was held in Hong Kong and its core driver for the VENTURI Formula E Team racing car The complete inverter is equipped with the 'full SiC' power module from Rohm Formula E. Formula E is the only motor sport to try cutting-edge technology in a new generation of electric vehicles, the 'full SiC' power module from Rohm Enables higher performance in the most critical power management aspects of racing.
'Full SiC' power module changes
Formula E is a fully electric powered car racing event because it does not use fossil fuels and is environmentally friendly, and road races are held in the cities of cities around the world like Hong Kong, Berlin, New York and so on. So how to make full use of electricity without waste is Formula E The key to success of the event, its technological innovation is expected to lead the development of common electric vehicle technology.
In the Formula 4 Championship this season, the 'full SiC' power module used in the Venturi electric racing car's core drive inverter is different from what it used to be, according to Suwando, Senior Manager, Design Center, Rohm Semiconductor (Shanghai) In the introduction, Roma provided the SiC-SBD only for inverters last season, but from the fourth season onwards it will offer 'full SiC' power modules with integrated transistors and diodes, as opposed to SiC Compared with the inverter, the miniaturization of 43% and the weight reduction of 6kg were achieved successfully, showing that SiC inverters with improved efficiency can greatly help increase the battery life of the electric vehicle by reducing the size and weight.
Suwon Takjian said the use of 'full SiC' power modules will increase efficiency while reducing volume, resulting in a significant improvement in race efficiency and space efficiency. "SiC at the same voltage has a lower resistance than Si's inside, which means The same process structure of the product, only change the material, you can make the internal resistance lower, the performance will be better, smaller size, the final product can be miniaturized. At the same time SiC can correspond to higher frequencies, the switch Speed will be faster than Si, can make the overall volume smaller, and SiC power module with more high temperature characteristics, application performance will be more prominent.
In addition, SiC and Si power components compared to significantly reduce the losses are also high hopes, especially in the application of electric vehicles, Roma is also promoting the development and application to accelerate its electric vehicle motors and inverters In the application of the current Beijing Automotive and BDY electric vehicles are using Roma SiC power devices.
The first mass production to form a one-stop production system
At present, from the perspective of market development, new energy vehicles are showing an explosive situation. SiC power devices have also been used in the fields of inverters, converters, PFC circuits and new energy sources such as solar and wind energy in electric vehicles / hybrid vehicles In the rectifier, inverter and other fields, many semiconductor manufacturers are optimistic about the future of SiC technology, and to actively join them.
Which walk in the cutting edge of SiC power device industry in addition to Roma, Infineon is also accelerating the layout.However, according to Suwon Dejian, compared to Infineon, Roma layout in the field of SiC more comprehensive since 2008 Luo Following the acquisition of German SiCrystal, which manufactures SiC wafers, Roma formed a one-stop production system for SiC components from wafer manufacturing, pre-process and post-process to power module and took the lead in mass production of SiC devices.
Then in 2010, Roma started mass production of SiC-MOSFET in the world. As the first mass-produced SiC power component, Roma started to quickly introduce SiC power components into the market of fast-charging car charger, meanwhile, The adoption of motors and inverters is also accelerating.
At the same time, in the process structure of SiC power devices, ROHM improves the structure and device structure related to the crystal defects and overcomes the reliability problem of the SiC-MOSFET. Since the SiC-MOSFET does not generate the tail current (The transition current flowing during shutdown), the switching losses at turn-off can be significantly reduced and the drive switching frequency above -50kHz can be achieved.
Therefore, the SiC power device can realize the energy saving of the machine and the miniaturization and weight reduction of the peripheral components such as the heat sink, the reactor and the capacitor, etc. In particular, the conventional Si-based IGBT has higher switching loss than the conduction loss, Applications, but this kind of SiC power device replacement is currently limited to high-end applications such as electric vehicles market, IGBT in the traditional market can still maintain a certain degree of advantage and proportion.
Overall, SiC power devices have obvious advantages in the application of electric vehicle market, the rapid development of electric vehicle market will also drive the market application of SiC power devices.WaterWorld Tak said that the current total revenue of Roma in the EV market accounted for about One-third, of which SiC power device wafer production to 4 inches, is turning to 6 inches, the next step will be the use of 8-inch production line.In addition, as Roma formed from the wafer manufacturing, pre-process, The latter process and then to the power module of the one-stop production system, Focus on the upstream material more accurate, so by the global wafer shortage tide less affected, in 2018 Roma will continue to play in the automotive field to provide more SiC products to enhance its application in the new energy automotive market share and industry status.