CISSOID Releases its Isolated Gate Driver HADES® for SemiSouth Normally-off SiC JFET


PCIM Europe, Nüremberg, Germany - CISSOID, the leader in high-temperature and high reliability semiconductor solutions, introduces today a new version of HADES®, its turnkey isolated gate driver reference design, tailored to support SEMISOUTH silicon carbide (SiC), normally-off power JFETs (SJEP120R100).

HADES® Reference Design is based on the CISSOID chipset THEMIS, ATLAS and RHEA, sustaining junction temperatures from -55 °C up to +225 °C in metal and ceramic packages. Capitalizing on its long experience in High Reliability components, CISSOID will be also introducing in the coming months a lower temperature version limited to 125°C, with an expected operational lifetime of at least 20 years.

With a strong focus on transportation and renewable energy applications, this gate driver solution delivers:

o Optimized switching of SemiSouth's SiC JFET technology, giving your system the highest possible switching efficiency;

o Reliable, robust operation for more than 20 years expected at 125°C;

o Low cost in mass production.

"CISSOID has already demonstrated its gate drive technology as the most reliable in harsh environment applications" said Jean-Christophe Doucet, VP Marketing at CISSOID. "What we are demonstrating today with SemiSouth is a derivative solution tailored to meet the requirements of the solar and transportation markets, meeting their low-cost target, while enabling efficiency gains and the longest lifetime that beats traditional semiconductors by more than a decade."

Driving SemiSouth's SJEP120R100 SiC JFET, the test board was able to hard-switch 600 V and 10 A with turn-off and turn-on times of only 14 ns and 24 ns, respectively. The test board also demonstrated very low switching losses (Etotal less than 124 μJ) that were a factor of 10 to 20 lower than standard silicon IGBTs, but also lower than a number of other SiC power switches. Overall, the system demonstrated superior power efficiency, taking full advantage of the SemiSouth devices.

"SemiSouth welcomes the announcement of CISSOID's HADES gate driver solution," said Dr. Kevin Speer, SemiSouth's Director of Business Development. "We have seen, first-hand, the exceptional performance the HADES gate driver is capable of delivering with our SiC JFETs, and we are confident users will find it to be an elegant solution that offers industry-leading power conversion efficiency."

CISSOID HADES® half-bridge isolated gate driver board, P/N EVK-TIT0636B, is available now from CISSOID for electrical evaluation with the high-temperature version of the chipset; a single channel, low cost version of the isolated gate drive chipset will be introduced in the coming months. The Application Note (CISSOID AN-121168) is also available from CISSOID. Visit us at PCIM booth #12-746, or visit our website at www.cissoid.com or contact the company's representatives at www.cissoid.com/company/about-us/contacts.html.

About Cissoid - www.cissoid.com

CISSOID is the leader in high temperature semiconductor solutions, delivering standard products and custom solutions for power management, power conversion and signal conditioning in extreme temperature and harsh environments. CISSOID provides high reliability products guaranteed from -55°C to +225°C and commonly used outside that range, from cryogenic lows to upper extremes.

Whether the ambient temperature is low but the power dissipation heats up the chips, or in high temperature environments, CISSOID products enable energy, weight and cost savings in lighter, cooling-free and more compact electronic systems. They are used in mission-critical systems as well as in applications requiring long term reliability. CISSOID supplies leaders in the Oil&Gas, Aeronautics, Industrial and Automotive markets.

About SemiSouth Laboratories, Inc.

SemiSouth, a privately owned corporation with its main offices and foundry in Starkville, Mississippi, (USA), focuses on silicon carbide (SiC) power devices and electronics, targeting applications such as: solar inverters; power conversion in computing and network power supplies; variable-speed drives for industrial motors and hybrid electric vehicles; and products used in high-power, harsh-environment military and aerospace environments. The company was formed in 2000, has sold products globally through direct sales or distributors since 2005, and received a major growth investment from Power Integrations (NASDAQ: POWI) in 2010. It introduced the world's first commercial, cost-effective normally-off SiC JFETs in 2008, which have enabled world-record energy efficiencies for its customer's products. More information is available at www.semisouth.com.

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