1200V SiC Diode Assisting Solar Photovoltaic Module

STMicroelectronics (ST) announced the innovation of silicon carbide products to help system manufacturers develop energy-efficient electronic devices that can convert solar energy into electricity for the power grid.

STMicroelectronics has exhibited a 1200V silicon carbide diode at the 2012 Solar Power International 2012 held in Florida, USA. This product can replace the common diodes used in DC-DC boost converters and DC-AC inverters to convert the low-voltage output power of a solar photovoltaic module into high-quality grid voltage AC power.

As the basic material of solar power generation diodes, various technical indicators of silicon carbide diodes are superior to ordinary silicon bipolar technology. Silicon carbide diodes turn on and off very quickly, and there is no reverse recovery current when switching on conventional bipolar diode technology. After eliminating the reverse recovery current effect, the silicon carbide diodes consume 70% less energy, maintain high energy efficiency over a wide temperature range, and increase flexibility for designers to optimize system operating frequency.

ST's 1200V SiC diode test has demonstrated that even with high load and switching frequency, the overall energy efficiency of the inverter still increases by 2%. Within the life cycle of the inverter, a 2% improvement in energy efficiency can save household solar power systems and high-power power stations millions of megawatts of valuable electrical energy.

ST also announced the latest developments in its silicon carbide MOSFET project. ST's silicon carbide MOSFETs will be the world's first commercial silicon carbide MOSFETs. Because of its many advantages, it is expected to replace the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) in solar inverters. In addition to a 50% reduction in power consumption compared to IGBTs, SiC MOSFETs do not require special drive circuits and operate at higher frequencies. This allows designers to minimize the number of power components, reduce power supply costs and size, and increase energy efficiency.

Other applications for silicon carbide MOSFETs and diodes include large power supplies for computer rooms and data centers, and motor-driven electronic systems for electric vehicles.