Page 2 - PEN eBook May 2022

VIEWPOINT

DRIVE HARD.

DRIVE SAFE. Wide-Bandgap

Semiconductors
WE-AGDT Gate Drive transformer

for EVs

Silicon carbide and gallium nitride technologies have grown enormously over the past few years,
proving to be commercially available energy-saving technologies. While silicon is still competitive at

lower voltages up to 650 V, SiC and GaN offer efficient high-frequency and high-current operation
at higher voltages. The big battleground among Si, SiC, and GaN plays around 650 V, where all the
devices are suitable for the 400-V electric-vehicle bus voltage. To enable EVs to charge faster,
automotive power-electronic designers need GaN and SiC devices and a new powertrain architecture
that can meet EVs’ efficiency and power density requirements. To obtain maximum driving range
on a charge for the given battery capacity, the entire power-conversion chain must achieve the
maximum efficiency possible. Batteries must have a very high energy storage density. The autonomy
© eiSmart of an electric car directly reflects the efficiency of its powertrain system. In this issue, Rafael A.

Garcia Mora, system application engineer for OBC applications at Infineon Technologies, identifies
trends in OBC designs, compares the figures of merit among semiconductor technologies, and
introduces new surface-mount–device packaging. The comprehensive solutions bring innovation
WE meet @ in different topologies, offer more efficiency and power density, and enable bidirectionality that

PCIM Europe integrates EVs into the smart grid. Other topics include SiC cost analysis, thermal management and
monolithic integration of GaN components, advanced solutions for driving and protecting power
Hall 6, Booth 402 switches, and wireless power transfer. Moreover, we take a look at vertical GaN and the benefits of
GaN technology for motor drivers. A new SCR-based pulse generator has been developed and tested

on various inductive power components by Bs&T Frankfurt am Main GmbH. The pulse generator has
some unique properties that benefit from the high-pulsed current-handling capabilities of SCRs,
WE-AGDT • Optimized for SiC gate driver supply
The WE-AGDT series from Würth Elektronik allows implementing discrete SiC • Interwinding capacitance down to 6.8 pF and it offers some major advantages compared with IGBT-based systems. Bs&T has developed
gate driver designs easier than ever before. These standard parts are compact • CMTI over 100 kV / µs several pulse generators based on this technology for various applications. PCIM at Nuremberg will
SMT transformers optimized for silicon carbide applications. With extremely • IEC62368-1 / IEC61558-2-16
low interwinding capacitance, the WE-AGDT helps to achieve higher Common • Up to 6 W power see many companies to share the latest news about power electronics. We will attend with our
Mode Transient Immunity (CMTI). The series is compliant with safety standards • Unipolar & bipolar output booth. Visit us at Hall 6, Booth 400. Stay tuned with our podcast, news, coverage, and technical
according to IEC62368-1 / IEC61558-2-16 in addition to AEC-Q200 • Compact & lightweight
qualification. Reference designs are available for each WE-AGDT transformer. articles about PCIM 2022!
The complete solution is compact and capable of fully automated assembly.

Products available from stock. Samples free of charge. Yours Sincerely,
For further information, please visit: www.we-online.com/agdt
Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio
Editor-in-Chief, Power Electronics News
#ReadyForTheFuture

MAY 2022 | www.powerelectronicsnews.com 3 3