Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has announced the release of six new J3-Series power semiconductor modules for various electric vehicles (xEVs), featuring either a silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (SiC-MOSFET) or an RC-IGBT (Si), with compact designs and scalability for use in the inverters of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
All six J3-Series products will be available for sample shipments from March 25, 2024. The new power modules will be exhibited at the 38th Electronics R&D, Manufacturing and Packaging Technology Expo (NEPCON JAPAN 2024) from January 24 to 26, 2024, at Tokyo Big Sight, in Tokyo, Japan, as well as other exhibitions in North America, Europe, China, and additional locations.
Power semiconductor modules
As power semiconductors capable of efficiently converting electricity expand and diversify in response to decarbonization initiatives, the demand is increasing for SiC power semiconductors offering significantly reduced power loss.
In the xEV sector, power semiconductor modules are used widely in power conversion devices such as inverters for xEV drive motors. In addition to extending the cruising range of xEVs, compact, high-power, high-efficiency modules are needed to further downsize batteries and inverters.
However, due to the high safety standards set for xEVs, power semiconductors used in drive motors must be more reliable than those used in general industrial applications. The development of these SiC products was partially supported by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).