United SiC’s New FET-Jet Tool to Help Engineers Select the Right Device for Their Designs

UnitedSiC is a fabless company that specializes in the development of high-efficiency silicon carbide (SiC) devices. 

The company’s SiC field-effect transistor (FET) and diode power semiconductors are designed to provide the best possible performance for electric vehicle (EV) chargers, DC-DC converters and traction drives, solar photovoltaic (PV) inverters, and more. Last month, UnitedSiC announced the release of its new registration-free online tool, the FET-Jet Calculator. Customers can use the calculator to make faster decisions when choosing the best-suited UnitedSiC device for their power designs. 

The UnitedSiC FET-Jet Calculator. Image used courtesy of UnitedSiC 

 

The FET-Jet Calculator

UnitedSiC devices can be evaluated concerning performance, and compared between one another in different power applications and topologies. Users only need to run through three simple steps: selection of application function, selection of topology, and entry of operating specs and device selection. By using the calculator, power design engineers can answer important questions early on in the design cycle. This means that the right topology for desired requirements can be chosen, the right power semiconductor can be chosen, and the choice of whether it is best to use parts in parallel with one another to achieve the best design. 

In a recent news release, Vice President of Engineering at UnitedSiC, Dr. Anup Bhalla,  commented: “Selecting the right device in the right power topology shouldn’t be a barrier to power designers considering the switch to SiC. This is why we built the FET-Jet Calculator. For engineers working with SiC for the first time, or those looking for the best SiC device to fit evolving designs, the calculator is a quick and easy way to evaluate UnitedSiC FETs in a variety of power topologies – speeding up R&D by avoiding any wasted time creating advanced simulations for inappropriate devices. Just a few clicks put you on the right heading to arrive at an optimum design”.

Vice President of Engineering at UnitedSiC, Dr. Anup Bhalla. Image used courtesy of UnitedSiC 

 

How is the Calculator used?

The different topologies that can be used are displayed in categories that include AC-DC, DC-DC (non-isolated), and DC-DC isolated. Another feature of the calculator is its provision of instant results, which helps engineers to make faster decisions that are integral to their designs. This includes overall design efficiency, component losses by dynamic and conduction contributions, current stress levels, junction temperature, and the number of devices in parallel (if this has been selected for). Users can observe the effects of changing the conduction modes in different topologies by changing the storage inductor and switching frequency values. The power rating is an input parameter that is available for each topology when accessing the calculator. Although the calculator does not distinguish between the input and output power, it can be thought of as output power. Power semiconductor efficiency for a majority of systems is usually high enough to make any error incurred from neglecting input versus output power negligible. 

The FET-Jet Calculator has been designed so that accuracy, speed, and ease of use are balanced for UnitedSiC’s customers. This has been made possible by minimizing any possible errors and simplifying the process of generating quick results without losing accuracy for typical applications.