Silicon carbide demo board protects power electronics in EVs
Stephen Law
Electronics Power Supply / Management Engineering board carbide Demonstrator E-Fuse power SiC TechnologyMICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY E-Fuse Demonstrator Board, enabled by silicon carbide (SiC) technology, is available in six variants for 400–800V battery systems and with a current rating up to 30 amps. Demonstrator can detect and interrupt fault currents in microseconds, 100–500 times faster than traditional mechanical approaches because of its high-voltage solid-state design. The fast response time substantially reduces peak short-circuit currents from tens of kilo-amps to hundreds of amps, which can prevent a fault event from resulting in a hard failure. Product provides BEV/HEV OEM designers with a SiC-based technology solution to jumpstart their development process with a faster, more reliable method for protecting power electronics. The solid-state design also alleviates long-term reliability concerns about electromechanical devices because there is no degradation from mechanical shock, arcing or contact bounce.
