Powerful new inverters incorporating silicon carbide transistors and diodes could help speed the development of hybrid electric vehicles and lead to advances in a number of other areas. Compared to conventional silicon-based power semiconductor switches, the silicon carbide devices feature much better reliability and allow for power devices and converters that are more compact, lighter and far more efficient. Working with Rockwell Scientific Co., Burak Ozpineci of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Engineering Science and Technology Division and researchers at the University of Tennessee have developed 1,200-volt 15-amp silicon carbide transistors and diodes and have produced a 7.5-kilowatt inverter. These new devices, which boast vastly higher power densities than silicon-based converters, ultimately will be used in traction drives in hybrid vehicles and could have applications for distributed power. Funding for this research is provided by the Department of Energy's FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program.
Menu