A week at Infineon: Key take-aways!

Another opportunity presented itself this past week, and so I travelled to Villach, Austria -a city where almost the entire 60,000 population is in one way or another affected by Infineon Technologies.

The fact that I was in the same place where the world's most innovative solutions in the semiconductor industry are made ,made this summer school even more exciting.

But what exactly did I take home with me? Are there more to expect from them? Here I tried my best to condense this takeaways into one article.

Power MOSFETS

A year ago, I wrote an article titled: 'MOSFET: The Most Important Invention Ever?' (check here)

which basically highlights basic functioning of the MOSFET and I thought I wouldn't have to refer to that again- well, although the summer school was oriented towards power MOSFETs, it is safe to say the foundations were laid, and I felt nice.

It is also important to mention that we had an overview of the chip building process -but that would later come in a separate article.

-When looking at MOSFETs, On Resistance -RDs(on) -the Resistance between the Drain and gate when the device is on, and Blocking Voltage(VBR) -the maximum voltage that can be applied between the drain and source terminals when the MOSFET is in the "off" state without causing breakdown to the device, are particularly the 2 most important properties to note.

Infineon introduced 2 industry-leading solutions which 'optimizes' these properties;

a. CoolMOS?

This device breaks the silicon limit, which is a barrier through which RDs(on) cannot be decreased further.

In standard MOSFETs, the area between the drain and source (the drift region) is used to block high voltages. To handle higher voltages, this drift region needs to be thicker, which increases the RDs(on). Higher resistance means more power loss when the MOSFET is turned on.

Infineon thus implemented a solution using Super junction(SJ) principle where MOSFETs (in this case CoolMOS?) use a special layered structure to solve this problem.

Instead of one thick, uniformly doped drift region, the super junction MOSFET has alternating vertical layers of N-doped and P-doped regions which allows the MOSFET to block high voltages without needing a thick drift region and thus significantly reduces the RDs(on) while still allowing the MOSFET to handle high voltages efficiently.

One advantage of the SJ MOSFET is the low input & output capacitances which together with a low gate charge make rise and fall times of a few nanoseconds a reality, thus increasing the switching speeds.

b. OptiMOS?

This device boasts the industry's lowest figure of merit & provides an excellent best-in-class performance.

Its best features include ultra low RDS(on)?as well as high efficiency and power density ideal for high switching frequency applications.

Infineon with AI & Sustainability

Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic, and a key player whenever automation, data processing and economics of energy converge. The week presented a huge opportunity to experience first hand how a semi conductor manufacturer tries to keep up with the demand of AI , all while ensuring efficient solutions leave its doors.

AI is generally spread over Automotive, Industrial and consumer applications. We all know that almost every organization already implements AI to handle repetitive tasks or for predictive maintenance which saves on resources.

Of more concern though; as AI takes over, data centers are becoming power hungrier which means better infrastructure for processing, efficiency & cooling are needed more than ever- this is where 英飞凌 comes in.

One of the main solutions presented to us include-

• Providing different topologies of Intermediate Bus Converter(IBC) solutions for the new 48 V power-delivery architecture instead of 12V.

-This architecture is focused on mass production specifically for data centers and AI servers- And since the input Voltage is higher for the same power output ,current is drastically reduced as losses go down consequently- making efficiency & power density increase.

-Such topologies include;

• Hybrid Switched Capacitor(HSC)-this combines the advantages of switched-capacitor and inductor-based converters, offering high efficiency and power density; enabled by low-voltage rated MOSFETs.

• Zero-voltage switching switched capacitor (ZSC)- This topology combines Zero Voltage switching which only ensures switching occurs when voltage is zero to reduce losses, while also benefitting from capacitors to improve overall efficiency & enable high density.

-One other solution to increase power density offered by Infineon are the TDM22544D & TDM22545D dual-phase power modules(shown below)-which basically provide two independent power conversion phases working together to provide power to the load.

Programs, Divisions & Affiliations

You might already know that Infineon is a world leader in Automotive(ATV ) semiconductors. It however has some more divisions including: IoT ,Power & Sensor Systems(PSS) and Green Industrial Power (GIP)

One particular segment I felt much connected with- the numerous exciting programs & perks that come with being part of Infineon. As they say, there's something for everyone. Some highlighted ones include;

1. Kompetenzzentrum Automobil- und Industrieelektronik GmbH (KAI)- Founded in 2006, this subsidiary Research Centre works in collaboration with Infineon Austria to perform tests and do research in the world of semiconductors. It also offers an opportunity for young researchers in the form of Masters & PhD theses. Check them out here
2. Important Project for Common European Interest (IPCEI) -Infineon Austria is part of IPCEI , a part of EU's aim to drive decarbonization and improve research standards. The company also extends its projects in the frame of IPCEI into activities such as collaboration with startups & Universities- like the summer school!
3. Carinthia International Centre(CIC)- To accommodate almost 6000 employees working at the company in Villach, CIC steps in to enable a swift transition and on boarding especially for international workers. Read about them here

Work Culture

With over 58000 employees spread almost worldwide, it would be common knowledge to have representations across the globe. And while this is true, Infineon specifically boasts of up to 70 countries represented in Villach.

Many factors make the company attractive including flexible hours, family flexibility offered and of course great wages.

The Human Relations team, the friends I made were particularly helpful as well as all the speakers throughout the week; who tried their best to show us the operations from within.

Thank you and see you soon!