ALISO VIEJO, Calif.,
Aug. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/
-- Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC), a leading
provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power,
security, reliability and performance, today announced it has
become a member of PowerAmerica—a manufacturing institute comprised
of public and private representatives from the semiconductor
industry, the U.S. Department of Energy, national laboratories and
academia—to accelerate the commercialization and adoption of wide
band gap semiconductors. Microsemi was awarded a contract as part
of PowerAmerica's $70 million dollar
backing from the U.S. Department of Energy over five years,
allocated to promoting the adoption of advanced semiconductor
components made with silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride
(GaN) into a wide range of products and systems.
Microsemi's role at PowerAmerica will be specifically focused on
supporting the commercialization of 1.7 kilovolt (kV) and 3.3 kV
SiC MOSFETs and SiC Schottky diodes as it develops next-generation
devices. With key benefits to include higher efficiency, high
temperature/voltage operational stability, better power handling
and smaller form factors, the 1.7 kV and 3.3 kV devices will expand
the number of applications where SiC technology can be used. Ideal
for the industrial and aerospace markets, as well as the defense
market where U.S.-based suppliers are necessary, target
applications for the devices include automotive electrification,
railway application (traction), aerospace actuation systems, power
generation and distribution, solar inverters, motor drive and
electromagnetic railgun.
"We are pleased our leadership in the SiC market as well as our
investment in this technology have been recognized by
PowerAmerica's leadership, and we are excited to leverage our
expertise as we collaborate with this talented consortium," said
Leon Gross, vice president and
business unit manager for Microsemi's Power Discretes and Modules
business unit. "As one of the limited number of suppliers serving
this market, Microsemi looks forward to providing cost-effective
state-of-the-art 1.7 kV and 3.3 kV SiC devices with the ability for
quick high volume scale up via a 6-inch foundry with short lead
times, ultimately leading to faster design cycles for
customers."
Working with Power America allows Microsemi to extend its
ability to offer the same high-level system integration it provides
in aerospace applications with its intelligent power solutions
(IPS) such as the power core module (PCM) and hybrid power drive
(HPD). PowerAmerica brings the world's leading wide band gap
semiconductor manufacturers, material providers and end-users
together with experts from top research universities and government
agencies not only to reduce the cost, but also to improve the
performance and reliability of wide band gap devices and the
systems that incorporate SiC and GaN technologies. As a member of
the institution, Microsemi has access to as many as 11 university
research programs, three federal collaborators and over 10 startups
committed to growing wide band gap technology with an emphasis on
building technology in the U.S. workforce.
"Microsemi's six decades of experience developing
high-reliability semiconductor solutions combined with its
continuing commitment to innovate, lead and adapt to a rapidly
changing landscape, will help accelerate the adoption of SiC in the
power electronics industry," said Victor Veliadis, Ph.D., deputy
executive director and chief technology officer of PowerAmerica.
"PowerAmerica is proud to join forces with Microsemi to transition
its 1.7 kV SiC process to high volume ramp and develop 3.3 kV
devices which are critical for traction and high voltage direct
current (HVDC) grid applications."
According to market research firm IHS Markit Technology, the SiC
power device market is forecast to reach approximately $1.4 billion in 2021, with a compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 38 percent from 2015 to 2021. The firm also
describes how the benefits of SiC are influencing the development
of new end products. Microsemi is well-positioned with these
trends, with its SiC MOSFETs and diodes offering superior dynamic
and thermal performance over conventional Silicon power devices,
among other advantages.
Key features of Microsemi's 1.7 kV and 3.3 kV SiC devices will
include:
- Highly reliable at 175 degrees Celsius
- AEC-Q101 qualified
- Specific Rds(on) targeted to be less than 7 mohm.cm2 for the
1.7 kV MOSFETs, the lowest known among available products in the
market
- Avalanche energy rating (UIS) of over 15J/cm2, making the
device highly rugged for industrial and automotive applications and
the highest known UIS rating for any 1.7 kV SiC MOSFET available
today
- Short circuit withstand time (SCWT) of ~5us, the longest for
devices in the 1.7 kV class today, ensuring safe operation/shut-off
under fault conditions
Microsemi's current portfolio of SiC products offers a number of
advantages, including improved system efficiency with 25-50 percent
power output increases for the same physical dimensions, efficiency
at higher switching frequencies over Insulated Gate Bipolar
Transistors (IGBTs), reduced system size and weight, operating
stability over temperature (+175 degrees C) and significant cooling
cost savings. For more information about the company's expertise in
SiC semiconductors, visit
http://www.microsemi.com/product-directory/discretes/3613-silicon-carbide-sic.
About Microsemi
Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC)
offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor and system
solutions for aerospace & defense, communications, data center
and industrial markets. Products include high-performance and
radiation-hardened analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, FPGAs,
SoCs and ASICs; power management products; timing and
synchronization devices and precise time solutions, setting the
world's standard for time; voice processing devices; RF solutions;
discrete components; enterprise storage and communication
solutions, security technologies and scalable anti-tamper products;
Ethernet solutions; Power-over-Ethernet ICs and midspans; as well
as custom design capabilities and services. Microsemi is
headquartered in Aliso Viejo,
California, and has approximately 4,800 employees globally.
Learn more at www.microsemi.com.
Microsemi and the Microsemi logo are registered trademarks or
service marks of Microsemi Corporation and/or its affiliates.
Third-party trademarks and service marks mentioned herein are the
property of their respective owners.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995: Any statements set forth in this news release
that are not entirely historical and factual in nature, including
without limitation statements related to becoming a member of
PowerAmerica, an institute comprised of public and private
representatives from the semiconductor industry, the U.S.
Department of Energy, national laboratories and academia, to
accelerate the commercialization and adoption of wide band gap, and
its potential effects on future business, are forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our
current expectations and are inherently subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. The
potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
such factors as rapidly changing technology and product
obsolescence, potential cost increases, variations in customer
order preferences, weakness or competitive pricing environment of
the marketplace, uncertain demand for and acceptance of the
company's products, adverse circumstances in any of our end
markets, results of in-process or planned development or marketing
and promotional campaigns, difficulties foreseeing future demand,
potential non-realization of expected orders or non-realization of
backlog, product returns, product liability, and other potential
unexpected business and economic conditions or adverse changes in
current or expected industry conditions, difficulties and costs in
implementing the company's acquisitions and divestitures strategy
or integrating acquired companies, uncertainty as to the future
profitability of acquired businesses and realization of accretion
from acquisition transactions, difficulties and costs of protecting
patents and other proprietary rights, inventory obsolescence and
difficulties regarding customer qualification of products. In
addition to these factors and any other factors mentioned elsewhere
in this news release, the reader should refer as well to the
factors, uncertainties or risks identified in the company's most
recent Form 10-K and all subsequent Form 10-Q reports filed by
Microsemi with the SEC. Additional risk factors may be identified
from time to time in Microsemi's future filings. The
forward-looking statements included in this release speak only as
of the date hereof, and Microsemi does not undertake any obligation
to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent
events or circumstances.
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