Silicon Carbide Diodes Make Solar Power Systems More Efficient

by Michael O’Neill, Applications Engineering Manager, Cree Inc., Vendor website, Oct 01 2008

Focus:
This paper discusses the thermal and electrical advantages of SiC material and diodes versus conventional, silicon materials and diodes, then goes on to discuss the benefits of using SiC Schottkys in solar power inverters. These inverters consist of a boost converter stage followed by an inverter stage. In the boost stage, use of a SiC Schottky for the boost diode (in place of a silicon PiN diode) eliminate its switching losses. This substitution also lowers the MOSFET or IGBT turn-on loss. In the inverter stage, the replacement of silicon diodes with SiC Schottkys eliminates switching losses in the freewheeling diodes, while also lowering IGBT turn-on losses. The combined effect of these changes is an increase in typical operating efficiency from 96% average for inverters with silicon diodes to 97.5% for inverters using SiC Schottkys. The development of more-efficient PV panels is expected to drive demands for SiC diodes with higher current ratings from 10-A to 20-A today to 100 A or higher in the future.

What you’ll learn:

• How to understand the efficiency benefits of SiC Schottkys in solar power inverters

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