A MOSFET constructed with silicon carbide
presents a significant step improvement
over silicon alone. SiC MOSFETs have much
higher breakdown voltages, better cooling and
temperature endurance, and can be made
physically much smaller as a result. IGBTs
(insulated-gate bipolar transistors) are primarily
used for switching voltages above 600V, but
silicon carbide allows MOSFETs usable to
withstand 1700V and even higher voltages.
SiC MOSFETs also have significantly less
switching losses than IGBTs, and they can
operate at higher frequencies.
Because of these and other benefits, SiC
MOSFETs are increasingly being used in
power supplies for industrial equipment and
inverters/converters for high-efficiency power
conditioners.
Figure 2: SiC MOSFET Advantages vs. Si MOSFET and IGBTs
Silicon carbide, also known as carborundum, is
a compound semiconductor made of silicon and
carbon. It occurs in nature as an extremely rare
mineral called moissanite but has been mass-
produced as an abrasive since the 19th century.
SiC has only recently entered mass production
for high-temperature, high-voltage semiconductor
devices capable of high-speed operation.
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the increasing popularity of SiC moSFets
