Silicon carbide has become a viable option for engineers designing power systems for electric vehicles, industrial systems, and other applications, and the availability of power devices and modules continues to increase. Embedded systems company Microchip has developed a software-based tool, called MPLAB® SiC Power Simulator, that enables engineers to evaluate Microchip’s SiC power devices and modules across various topologies before committing a design to hardware.
MPLAB SiC Power Simulator is a PLECS-based software environment designed in collaboration with Plexim to provide an online complimentary tool that eliminates the need to purchase a simulation license. The tool enables customers to benchmark and evaluate SiC solutions in the design phase, accelerate the design of SiC-based power topologies for E-Mobility, sustainability and industrial applications that include electric vehicles, on/off-board charging, power supplies and battery storage systems
According to Microchip, the tool can speed up time to market by delivering a comprehensive SiC evaluation that not only provides valuable benchmarking data but also reduces component selection times. For instance, a power electronics designer deciding between a 25 mΩ and 40 mΩ SiC MOSFET for a three-phase active front end converter can get immediate simulation results, such as average power dissipation and peak junction temperature of the devices.
With the simulation tool, engineers can evaluate the impact of different gate resistances, compare power loss and thermal performance for difference devices and different working conditions, and capture waveforms for passive component design needs.
Microchip’s silicon carbide portfolio includes power module packaging with the lowest parasitic inductance (<2.9 nH), and 3.3 kV discrete MOSFETs and diodes with high current ratings. The SiC portfolio also includes 700V, 1200V and 1700V die, discretes and modules, as well as AgileSwitch® configurable digital gate drivers.
These silicon carbide devices offer the ruggedness and performance to deliver gate oxide lifetimes that are predicted to exceed 100 years. SiC technology promises higher system efficiency, power density and temperature stability over silicon Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) in high-power applications.
Users can download the MPLAB SiC Power Simulator from this site.
Spencer Chin is a Senior Editor for Design News covering the electronics beat. He has many years of experience covering developments in components, semiconductors, subsystems, power, and other facets of electronics from both a business/supply-chain and technology perspective. He can be reached at [email protected]