SiC power diodes provide breakthrough performance for a wide range of applications

The electrical performance of silicon carbide (SiC) power diodes is evaluat ed and compared to that of commercially available silicon (Si) diodes in th e voltage range from 600 V through 5000 V, The comparisons include the on-s tate characteristics, the reverse recovery characteristics, and power conve rter efficiency and electromagnetic interference (EMI), It is shown that a newly. developed 1500-V SiC merged PiN Schottky (MPS) diode has significant performance advantages over Si diodes optimized for various voltages in th e range of 600 V through 1500 V, It is also shown that a newly developed 50 00 V SiC PiN diode has significant performance advantages over Si diodes op timized for various voltages in the range of 2000 V through 5000 V, In a te st case power converter, replacing the best 600 V Si diodes available with the 1500 V SiC MPS diode results in an increase of po,ver supply efficiency from 82% to 88% for switching at 186 kHz, and a reduction in EMI emissions .