After CES Show in February, ON Semiconductor EliteSiC Silicon Carbide Series Welcomes Collaboration with BMW and Other Automakers

With the signing of a long-term supply agreement, the BMW Group's future electric powertrains will be equipped with ON Semiconductor's EliteSiC chips, which will help improve the range of electric vehicles (EVs)

On March 7, ON Semiconductor announced that it has signed a long-term supply agreement (LTSA) with BMW Group (BMW) to use ON Semiconductor's EliteSiC technology in the German premium automaker's 400 V DC bus electric powertrains. ON Semiconductor's latest EliteSiC 750 V M3 chip is integrated into a full-bridge power module that delivers several hundred kilowatts of power.

The strategic collaboration between the two companies targets the development and integration of electric powertrains, enabling ON Semiconductor to offer differentiated chip solutions for specific applications, including optimized size and layout as well as high performance and reliability. Optimized electrical and mechanical characteristics achieve high efficiency and lower overall losses, while providing extremely high system-level performance.

onsemi's EliteSiC silicon carbide family of solutions

onsemi introduced "EliteSiC" as its silicon carbide (SiC) family on January 3 and showcased three new members of the family - a 1700V EliteSiC MOSFET and two 1700V avalanche-class EliteSiC Schottky diodes - at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. These new devices provide reliable, efficient performance for energy infrastructure and industrial drive applications, highlighting onsemi's position as a leader in industrial silicon carbide solutions.

With the 1700V EliteSiC MOSFET (NTH4L028N170M1), onsemi offers a higher breakdown voltage (BV) SiC solution required for high power industrial applications. Two 1700V avalanche-rated EliteSiC Schottky diodes (NDSH25170A, NDSH10170A) enable designers to achieve stable high-voltage operation at high temperatures while providing the high efficiency that comes with SiC.

By delivering best-in-class efficiency and reduced power losses, the new 1700V EliteSiC devices reinforce the high standards of performance and quality of our EliteSiC family, while further expanding onsemi EliteSiC's depth and breadth." Together with our end-to-end SiC manufacturing capabilities, onsemi offers the technology and supply assurance to meet the needs of industrial energy infrastructure and industrial drive suppliers."

Renewable energy applications have been moving to higher voltages, with solar systems going from 1100V to 1500V DC bus. To support this change, customers need MOSFETs with higher BVs. the new 1700V EliteSiC MOSFETs have a maximum Vgs range of -15V/25V, making them suitable for fast switching applications where the gate voltage increases to -10V, providing higher system reliability.

Under 1200V, 40A test conditions, the 1700V EliteSiC MOSFET achieves a gate charge (Qg) of 200nC, which is market leading compared to equivalent competitive devices approaching 300nC. Low Qg is critical to achieving high efficiency in fast switching, high power renewable energy applications.

At a rated voltage of 1700V, the EliteSiC Schottky diode device provides better margin between the maximum reverse voltage (VRRM) and the peak repetitive reverse voltage of the diode. The new device also offers excellent reverse leakage performance with a maximum reverse current (IR) of only 40 microamps at 25°C and 100 microamps at 175°C - significantly better than competitive devices that are typically rated at 100 microamps at 25°C.

Collaboration with BMW

Range is the number one consideration when purchasing an electric vehicle, and ON Semiconductor's system solutions are used in all BMW Group electric vehicles to optimize performance, a key competitive advantage," said Asif Jakwani, senior vice president and general manager of the Advanced Power Division of ON Semiconductor's Power Solutions Group. In addition, we continue to enhance all production steps of our robust, vertically integrated SiC supply chain to be able to support the BMW Group's rapidly growing demand for high-end electric vehicles."

With decades of expertise in manufacturing power devices for automotive applications, ON Semiconductor has developed differentiated smart power technologies that enable industry-leading electric drivetrain solutions. This includes superior packaging technologies and an evolutionary path from planar to trench cell architectures to deliver the highest reliability required for electric vehicle applications at a variety of voltages.

onsemi and Volkswagen Group Strengthen Strategic Collaboration on Next Generation Silicon Carbide Technology for Electric Vehicles through Strategic Agreement

On January 25, ON Semiconductor announced a strategic agreement with Volkswagen AG (VW) of Germany to provide modules and semiconductors to deliver a complete electric vehicle (EV) traction inverter solution for VW's next-generation platform family. These semiconductors are part of the overall system optimization, providing solutions that will support the front and rear traction inverters of VW models.

As part of the agreement, onsemi will first deliver its EliteSiC 1200 V traction inverter power modules. eliteSiC power modules are pin-compatible, allowing easy scaling of the solution to different power levels and motor types. Teams from both companies have been working together for more than a year to optimize the power modules for the next-generation platform and are developing and evaluating pre-production samples.

"The superior performance and quality of Onsemi's traction inverter modules, combined with our joint efforts to create the best system solution, enable us to deliver the superior driving experience and quality that our customers expect from Volkswagen Group vehicles," said Karsten Schnake, head of COMPASS, Volkswagen's Operations and Strategic Semiconductor Working Group." onsemi's broad portfolio of intelligent power and sensing solutions allows us to offer state-of-the-art technology and features in our electric vehicles, including traction inverters and other features. In addition to this milestone, onsemi's balanced layout of manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Asia and Europe, including a facility in the Czech Republic, is a perfect match for all the high-voltage solutions and other aspects that support our strategic markets."

With 19 wafer fabrication and packaging production sites, onsemi supplies Volkswagen with more than 500 different devices - including IGBTs, MOSFETs, image sensors and power management integrated circuits (PMICs). In addition to a diverse product portfolio, onsemi has a vertical silicon carbide (SiC) production chain that includes volume bulb growth, wafer, substrate, epitaxy, device manufacturing, best-in-class integrated modules and discrete packaging solutions that perfectly support a secure supply chain.

"Our extensive manufacturing footprint - including a resilient end-to-end SiC supply chain - gives onsemi the ability to provide the assurance of supply that OEMs need," said Simon Keeton, executive vice president and general manager of onsemi's Power Solutions Group." Our global investments, particularly in SiC, allow us to further support Volkswagen's rapidly expanding electric vehicle production."

The inverter solution for electric vehicles consists of onsemi's EliteSiC 1200 V 3x half-bridge modules, a system solution that supports two-axis inverters covering a wide power range.