ROHM introduces SiC power devices to solve design challenges for Midnite Solar

     ROHM Semiconductor announced that Midnite Solar, a leading producer of various alternative energy products headquartered in Arlington, Washington, uses ROHM's silicon carbide MOSFETs to improve efficiency and reduce system costs. Four new products for the US market - Hawke's Bay 600VDC to 48VDC 6000W MPPT solar charging controller, powerful Barcelona dual MPPT charging controller, MMB17 advanced battery-based charger/inverter and 120/240V Rosie inverter/charger, All benefit from the high performance and proven reliability of ROHM's SiC technology.

     "The energy efficiency of SiC power devices is greatly improved compared to the silicon components they replace, and the cost premium is greatly reduced, allowing more applications to benefit from these devices, resulting in better system performance and value." Dr. Ming Su, ROHM Semiconductor Technology Market Manager, said, "We are very excited to support Midnite Solar's latest power conversion product design with our SiC MOSFET technology, and we are truly excited to see the advanced power devices and system solutions making a positive difference for our valued customers.

     "Silicon carbide solves a key challenge," explains Robin Gudgel, principal owner and engineering manager at Midnite Solar. "The bulk diode speed of a regular silicon MOSFET is very slow," he details. Therefore, trying to make the inverter work as a charger, it must run in both directions is very difficult. We were considering combining the IGBT pair with another diode, but silicon carbide was such a good solution, and ROHM's device didn't require any major design changes, that it was an obvious choice."

     Midnite Solar incorporated ROHM's 60mΩ RDS(on)SiC devices and newer 30mΩ RDS(on) products into its new solar product range. Gudgel commented that he expects the reliability to be very good because the design runs like a glove. The driving parts will be simple, as ROHM also offers gate drivers.