#United States #Albany #Power Semiconductors #NoMIS Power #SiC MOSFET

NoMIS Power Achieves Major Breakthrough in SiC Short-Circuit Withstand Time

NoMIS Power has recently announced a revolutionary development in silicon carbide (SiC) technology, specifically aimed at enhancing the short-circuit withstand time (SCWT) of SiC MOSFETs. This achievement addresses a significant barrier that has been hindering the broader implementation of SiC tech in high-power applications.

Silicon carbide devices are valued in power electronics for their efficiency, rapid switching capabilities, and superior thermal management. However, until now, they have struggled against silicon-based IGBTs when it comes to short-circuit robustness, which is crucial for applications like industrial drives, electric vehicles, and grid settings. With NoMIS Power's latest breakthrough, the SCWT of their SiC MOSFETs has been extended to a remarkable minimum of 5 µs, compared to the previous industry norm of 2-3 µs, without any negative impact on specific on-resistance (Ron,sp).

This advancement not only enhances reliability but also opens doors for system designers to optimize performance while ensuring fault tolerance. The company achieved this balance by refining the trade-off between Ron,sp and SCWT through its proprietary MOSFET fabrication techniques and processes. This innovative approach allows for continued optimization of SiC MOSFETs, potentially leading to even longer SCWTs with negligible effects on on-resistance.

"At NoMIS Power, we have dedicated our efforts to engineering device architectures, resulting in considerable improvements in SiC short-circuit withstand time," remarked Woongje Sung, CTO at NoMIS Power. He emphasized that this innovation offers crucial advantages to the power electronics sector, enabling engineers to adopt SiC solutions with greater assurance in demanding environments.

The newly developed long SCWT devices undergo rigorous screening for latent defects and facilitate simpler gate driver desaturation (dSat) designs suitable for high di/dt and dv/dt situations, thus supporting faster switching frequencies up to hundreds of kilohertz. Initial testing has shown an impressive 2X to 4X increase in short-circuit withstand times compared to existing SiC devices, positioning NoMIS Power at the forefront of next-gen power semiconductors.

Moreover, when combined with innovations in packaging that affect junction-to-case thermal capacitance and advanced thermal management strategies boasting high heat transfer rates, the overall SCWT of the SiC MOSFETs can be enhanced even further. This technological leap has implications across multiple industries, including renewable energy and high-power industrial sectors, where prolonged short-circuit withstand times promote robust and dependable performance in mission-critical applications.

In particular, this advancement can reduce the inherent costs and increase the power density of SiC MOSFETs in power converters due to built-in redundancy. Applications that are sensitive to electromagnetic interference, which cannot rely solely on digital controls and sensing methods to manage short-circuit situations, will also benefit significantly from this breakthrough, decreasing associated risks.

As the market for SiC technology expands, NoMIS Power's innovation is set to be instrumental in enhancing the safety and reliability of SiC-powered converters and systems. Visitors to APEC 2025, scheduled for March 16-20 in Atlanta, GA, can see this groundbreaking technology for themselves at Booth 548, alongside an expanded portfolio of SiC discrets and power modules from NoMIS Power.

For further insights into NoMIS Power's pioneering achievements in SiC technology, prospective clients and industry professionals are encouraged to visit their website at www.nomispower.com.

About NoMIS Power

NoMIS Power Corporation specializes in designing and developing cutting-edge Silicon Carbide (SiC) power semiconductor devices and packaging architectures based in the U.S. The company, a spinout from the University at Albany's College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering, aims to deliver innovative solutions for the global power electronics markets. Established in 2020, NoMIS Power continues to bridge the gap between advanced research and practical applications in semiconductor technology.