Industry News

NoMIS Power improves short-circuit withstand time for SiC MOSFETs

This innovation benefits renewable energy, electric transportation, and high-power industrial applications.

NoMIS Power has improved short-circuit withstand time (SCWT) of SiC MOSFETs, addressing a key challenge in adopting SiC technology for high-power applications.

Silicon carbide (SiC) devices are widely used in power electronics for their efficiency, fast switching, and thermal performance. However, their lower short-circuit robustness compared to silicon-based IGBTs has limited their use in high-voltage, high-reliability applications such as industrial drives, electric vehicles, and grid systems.

Figure 1: Drain currents of the NoMIS Power SiC MOSFET and NoMIS Power SiC MOSFET with long SCWT under short-circuit conditions right before failure. Drain currents of the 1.2 kV, 80 mΩ SiC MOSFET (dark blue) and the long SCWT 1.2 kV, 80 mΩ SiC MOSFET (light blue) from NoMIS Power are compared. The measurement for short-circuit was conducted under the following conditions: Rg of 20 Ω, Vgs of 20 V, and a Vds of 800 V. (PRNewsfoto/NoMIS Power Corporation)
Figure 2: Typical output characteristics of NoMIS Power 1.2 kV, 80 mΩ SiC MOSFET and NoMIS Power 1.2 kV, 80 mΩ SiC MOSFET with long SCWT showing no significant negative impact on on-resistance. (PRNewsfoto/NoMIS Power Corporation)

NoMIS Power has extended the SCWT of SiC MOSFETs to at least 5 µs (Fig. 1), compared to the industry standard of 2-3 µs, without affecting specific on-resistance (Ron,sp) (Fig. 2). This improvement enhances reliability and expands design options for system engineers.


By adjusting the trade-off between Ron,sp and SCWT using NoMIS Power’s proprietary SiC MOSFET fabrication design and process, the performance shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 was achieved and can be adapted based on application needs. This optimization approach enables NoMIS Power to extend SCWT with minimal impact on Ron,sp.

NoMIS Power’s long SCWT devices are screened for latent defects and support easier gate driver desaturation (dSat) design for high di/dt and dv/dt, enabling switching frequencies up to hundreds of kHz. Initial tests show a 2X to 4X increase in short-circuit withstand time compared to existing SiC devices. Additionally, packaging innovations that affect junction-to-case thermal capacitance, along with advanced thermal management techniques, further enhance SCWT performance.

This advancement benefits industries such as renewable energy, electric transportation, and high-power industrial applications. A longer short-circuit withstand time improves reliability in critical applications, reducing the need for built-in redundancy in power converters, which impacts cost and power density. Additionally, applications sensitive to electromagnetic interference can better utilize SiC MOSFETs with lower risk. As SiC adoption grows, this improvement will enhance the reliability and safety of SiC-based power systems.

For more information, visit nomispower.com.