Mobile-Menu

SILICON CARBIDE onsemi's EliteSiC M4 pushes power density higher as energy demands grow

From onsemi 3 min Reading Time

Related Vendors

Rogers Corporation
CISSOID S.A.
MERSEN France SB

onsemi introduced EliteSiC M4, its fourth-generation silicon carbide platform built on a trench architecture, delivering up to 30% higher power density and 35% lower losses compared with the previous generation. By advancing conduction and switching performance, EliteSiC M4 enables more efficient, power-dense systems for AI data centers, electric vehicles and energy infrastructure.

Fourth-generation silicon carbide platform based on a trench architecture reduces losses while enabling more compact power systems across AI, EV and energy applications (Source: onsemi)
Fourth-generation silicon carbide platform based on a trench architecture reduces losses while enabling more compact power systems across AI, EV and energy applications
(Source: onsemi)

onsemi has introduced EliteSiC M4, its fourth-generation silicon carbide (SiC) platform built on a trench architecture and designed to set a new performance benchmark for next-generation power systems. With industry-leading conduction and switching performance, EliteSiC M4 gives customers greater design freedom to increase power density and efficiency up to 30% and lower losses by 35%, enabling more efficient, power-dense systems across EVs, AI data center and industrial applications.

“Power requirements are rising faster than the physical infrastructure around them. The next generation of power systems will require the ability to deliver more power, more efficiently and in less space,” said Achyut Shah, Group President of the Power Solutions Group at onsemi. “With more than 16 billion miles of proven silicon carbide operation in vehicles around the world, EliteSiC M4 is combining that foundation of reliability with the performance customers need to rethink the balance among power, efficiency, size and cost.”

Delivering more power within real-world constraints

The growth of AI, electrification and energy infrastructure is creating a common challenge for power-system designers – delivering significantly more power without proportional increases in size, energy losses, and cooling requirements. EliteSiC M4 addresses that challenge by expanding the power and efficiency available within existing system constraints, giving customers greater flexibility to scale AI infrastructure, electric vehicles and industrial systems.

Across its key markets, EliteSiC M4 translates these technology advances into distinct system-level benefits:

AI Data Centers: Scaling compute without scaling power infrastructure at the same rate. Higher-density power conversion helps data centers get more compute from every megawatt, maximizing capacity while reducing the supporting infrastructure required per unit of compute

Electric Vehicles: Getting more performance from the electric drivetrain. More compact, efficient traction inverters can help automakers improve vehicle range

Energy Infrastructure: Making more of every unit of energy. More efficient, higher-density power conversion helps solar, energy storage and other high-voltage systems reduce conversion losses

“As vehicle power levels increase, traction-inverter design becomes a tighter balancing act between efficiency, thermal performance, power density and reliability,” said Harald Hartel, Vice President, BU eMotor Controls at Schaeffler AG. “Higher efficiency and power density can give us greater flexibility to optimize the traction inverter for range, thermal performance and packaging, which are increasingly important as electrified powertrains become more demanding.”

A new architecture for higher power density and efficiency

EliteSiC M4 improves conduction and switching performance without compromising reliability. Key improvements over the previous generation include:

Improvement in specific on-resistance (RSP): Reduces specific RSP between 20% - 50%, while enabling faster switching

Lower switching losses: Improves switching figures of merit by 67% in hard-switching and 50% in soft-switching, supporting compact power-supply designs

Broad packaging flexibility: Designed to support existing packages, including top-side-cooled surface-mount packages and high-power modules

Ruggedness for demanding applications: The platform is also designed for demanding operating environments, with qualification supporting temperatures of 185°C and above, enabling use in high-voltage automotive and space applications.

Follow us on LinkedIn

Have you enjoyed reading this article? Then follow us on LinkedIn and stay up-to-date with daily posts about the latest developments on the industry, products and applications, tools and software as well as research and development.

Follow us here!

(ID:51015837)

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.

Unfold for details of your consent

Related content