New Industry Products

High Temperature Power Module for Harsh Environments

November 01, 2016 by Raytheon Technologies

Raytheon UK’s Integrated Power Solutions (IPS) business unit in Glenrothes, Scotland, has developed a high temperature, small formfactor bridge leg power module.

Aimed at high speed switching applications, the module has potential uses in the aerospace sector as it requires minimal external cooling and presents considerable weight saving opportunities within the More Electric Aircraft power system. Also, by supporting applications in harsh environments and in meeting high operating temperature demands, the module can also be used in the geothermal power and oil and gas sectors.

A prototype module has currently amassed more than 1,000 hours of stable operation at 300 C; a temperature at which traditional Silicon-based semiconductors cannot operate. Tests on the module, which includes two 1,200V Silicon Carbide (SiC) Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs), have been performed switching 500V at room temperature and switching 200V at 300°C. The BJTs are controlled by integrated base driver circuitry, fabricated using Raytheon’s propriety High Temperature Silicon Carbide (HiTSiC®) process.

“The co-location of BJT base driver circuitry and power transistors into a single high temperature module is a major industry breakthrough,” comments David Gordon, Technical Lead with Raytheon’s IPS. “For example, in many instances it is necessary to switch power stage transistors at tens of kHz and that requires getting the base driver circuitry as close as possible to the power transistors. However, in a high temperature environment that presents a problem.

 

About Raytheon

Raytheon Technologies Corporation is a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. It researches, develops, and manufactures advanced technology products in the aerospace and defense industry, including aircraft engines, avionics, aerostructures, cybersecurity, missiles, air defense systems, and drones. The company is also a large military contractor, getting a significant portion of its revenue from the U.S. government. Former United Technologies CEO and chairman Gregory J. Hayes is the CEO of the combined company,and former Raytheon CEO and chairman Thomas A. Kennedy is the Executive Chairman.

The company is the result of the merger of equals between the aerospace subsidiaries of United Technologies Corporation (UTC) and the Raytheon Company, which was completed on April 3, 2020. Before the merger, UTC spun-off its non-aerospace subsidiaries Otis Elevator Company and Carrier Corporation. UTC is the nominal survivor of the merger but it changed its name to Raytheon Technologies and relocated its headquarters to Waltham.

The company is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitalization. Through its predecessors, including UTC, its stock has been one of the most durable constituents of the US blue-chip index Dow Jones Industrial Average for more than 80 years. The stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange and the ticker symbol is RTX.

The company has four subsidiaries: Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense.