Business Unit - Energy

Power electronics are being employed in more and more areas and the applications are becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated. The possibilities created by the new semiconductor materials silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride necessitate new directions in packaging technology. Chip temperatures of over 250 °C are becoming attainable and packaging technology will need to be adapted for the new parameters.

The properties of SiC semiconductors make them almost ideal as switches. High switching speeds combined with parasitic capacitances and inductances within the package and at the component connections create unwanted oscillation that can negatively affect chip function.  However, EMC-optimized package design can help reduce losses and keep interference to a minimum.

Besides adaptions in conventional packaging technology there is also the possibility to embed power electronics in a PCB. This allows for a direct connection between dc-link and circuitry and an optimal PCB-track layout. Stray inductance in the busbar can so be reduced by one to two magnitudes to beneath 1nH.

Power electronics, like all areas of electronics, is still undergoing the trend towards miniaturization. The key to small, powerful modules is excellent thermal management.

Thanks to this array of technical expertise, we are able to build application-specific converters and rectifiers for our customers, be they piezo drives for micropumps or lighting, applications for renewable energy technology or for use in electromobility. We put converters to the test in our state-of-the-art laboratories.