According to Panasonic, encapsulation materials for SiC or GaN power devices exhibit “excellent” heat resistance and can suppress cracks and delamination of resin-encapsulated parts thanks to a high glass transition temperature and high thermal stability. Reinforcement materials used to improve mounting reliability, especially in automotive applications.
Drive-By-Microwave (DBM) isolated gate drivers and GaN bi-directional switches will also feature at Panasonic’s PCIM stand.
Using microwave wireless power transmission technology, the DBM gate driver supplies not only isolated signals but also isolated power to a power device. This eliminates the need for an external isolated power supply, and significantly simplifies and downsizes gate drive circuits for power devices such as SiCs and IGBTs.
Panasonic proposes a new bi-directional (4-quadrant) GaN switch in a single chip that supports bi-directional current conduction, as well as bi-directional high voltage isolation. This is designed to reduce conduction losses and the number of switching elements to realise a bi-directional switch. It will also contribute to size reduction and to higher conversion efficiency of power converter circuits, Panasonic adds.
