A cooperative project, called MMPSiC, is looking to enhance the efficiency of power supplies for industrial processes. Researchers from the Light Technology Institute (LTI) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), in cooperation with TRUMPF Hüttinger and IXYS Semiconductor, are studying the use of high power SiC semiconductor switches, backed by €800,000 from the German Federal Ministry of Research.
The project is addressing floating zone melting systems, currently controlled by tube-based amplifiers with a maximum electrical efficiency of 65%. If these were replaced by SiC power semiconductors, says the team, efficiency would be increased to more than 80%.
"Power supply of energy intensive industrial applications, such as a floating zone process, requires switching at high frequencies," explains project manager Dr Rainer Kling, from LTI. "Silicon carbide has not yet been tested at these high frequencies and we are entering new territory." Apart from long-term stability tests, the KIT researchers involved in the project will study the control and layout of the circuitry.
According to the researchers, floating zone processes are used in semiconductor manufacture, including silicon ingots, and the coating of display, as well as in the automobile manufacturing sector.
Author
Graham Pitcher
Source: www.newelectronics.co.uk