Renesas Electronics Announces Low-Loss Silicon Carbide (SiC) Power Device Series Integrating Power Conversion Circuit in a Single Package

TOKYO, Japan, January 24, 2012 — Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the availability of three silicon carbide (SiC) compound power devices, the RJQ6020DPM, the RJQ6021DPM and the RJQ6022DPM, that incorporate multiple SiC diodes and multiple power transistors in a single package to compose a power converter circuit or switching circuit. These are the second series of power semiconductor products from Renesas to employ SiC, a new material effective in reducing loss, and they are intended for use in home appliances such as air conditioners, PC servers, and power electronics products such as solar power generation systems.

Recently, efforts to reduce the power consumption of electric devices have progressed to address considerations such as environmental protection, and demand has increased for higher efficiency in a variety of electrical products. In particular, a strong trend can be seen toward boosting power conversion efficiency and operating efficiency to reduce power consumption in power switching circuits for products such as air conditioners, communication base stations, PC servers, and solar power generation systems, and in inverter circuits for applications such as motors and industrial equipment. This has spurred demand for power devices with improved efficiency and lower loss characteristics. Renesas responded by introducing SiC Schottky barrier diode (SiC-SBD) products employing SiC to achieve reduced loss. This is now followed by a series of SiC compound power devices that implement a circuit (switching, power conversion, etc.) in a single package by combining an SiC-SBD and high-power MOSFETs or IGBTs.

The new products have a voltage tolerance of 600 V and use an SiC diode based on low-leakage SiC-SBD technology developed jointly by Hitachi, Ltd., and Renesas. They combine low loss and compactness and are available in a fully molded TO-3P package with a 5-pin configuration and pin assignments optimized for specific applications, making it easy to configure a circuit unit incorporating them.

Key features of the three new SiC power devices:

(1) The RJQ6020DPM device for critical-conduction mode PFC applications

The RJQ6020DPM device combines in a single package an SiC-SBD and two high-voltage power MOSFETs required in switching circuits for critical-conduction mode PFC in the power supplies of products such as air conditioners or flat-panel TVs.

The reverse recovery time (trr) of the SiC-SBD is only 15 nanoseconds (ns), and the high-voltage power MOSFETs are highly efficient super-junction (SJ-MOS) transistors employing a deep-trench configuration to achieve a low on-resistance of 100 mΩ.

The new RJQ6020DPM device can also be combined with the R2A20112A/132 critical-conduction mode PFC-IC from Renesas Electronics, making it easy to implement interleaved control.

(2) The RJQ6021DPM device for continuous-conduction mode PFC applications

The RJQ6021DPM device combines in a single package an SiC-SBD and two IGBTs required for PFC in applications such as AC/DC rectifiers for communication equipment and PC servers.

The reverse recovery time (trr) of the SiC-SBD is only 15 nanoseconds (ns), and the ultra-thin-wafer IGBTs deliver a low on-voltage of 1.5 V that is ideal for continuous-conduction mode PFC applications.

The new RJQ6021DPM device can also be combined with the R2A20114A continuous-conduction mode PFC-IC from Renesas Electronics, making it easy to implement interleaved control.

(3) The RJQ6022DPM device for inverter half-bridge circuits

The RJQ6022DPM device combines in a single package two SiC-SBDs and two IGBTs required for half-bridge circuits in inverters for applications such as motor drive in air conditioners and industrial machinery.

The reverse recovery time (trr) of the SiC-SBD is only 15 nanoseconds (ns), and the ultra-thin-wafer IGBTs deliver a low on-voltage of 1.5 V and short circuit time (tsc) of 6 microseconds (μsec.), which is suitable for motor drive applications.

A single RJQ6022DPM device is sufficient to implement a half-bridge circuit, while two can be used for a full-bridge configuration and three for a three-phase bridge configuration. In addition to simplifying the design of motor drive circuits, the RJQ6022DPM device will be available as part of kit solutions with Renesas MCUs such as the RX600 Series.

The new series of SiC compound power devices with a focus on high-voltage power devices was developed to help bring to customers total solutions comprising MCUs plus analog and power devices while putting Renesas Electronics among the leaders in power devices worldwide. The company plans to roll out kit solutions combining the new SiC compound power device products with MCUs, power control ICs, and other devices. Reference boards mounted with the new SiC compound power devices, PFC-ICs, RX600 Series MCUs, etc., are being planned to help customers with kit evaluation and product design.

Pricing and Availability

Samples of Renesas' new SiC compound power devices are scheduled to begin in February 2012, priced at US$10 per unit. Mass production is scheduled to start in May 2012 and is expected to reach a combined volume of 300,000 units per month in April 2013. (Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.)

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Refer to the separate sheet for product specifications

About Renesas Electronics Corporation

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) delivers trusted embedded design innovation with complete semiconductor solutions that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live. A global leader in microcontrollers, analog, power and SoC products, Renesas provides comprehensive solutions for a broad range of automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT applications that help shape a limitless future. Learn more at renesas.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

The content in the press release, including, but not limited to, product prices and specifications, is based on the information as of the date indicated on the document, but may be subject to change without prior notice.