Product Selection

Selecting Power Discretes for Motor Drive and Power Conversion Applications

Robert Kim

Senior FAE - Power Electronics

2026-03-10

[Data Pending] Article content to be added from official technical documentation.

[Data Pending] Technical details to be verified with manufacturer.

[Data Pending] Application guidelines to be confirmed by FAE team.

💡 FAE Insights

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

✗ Insufficient gate drive voltage leading to high Rds(on)
✗ Inadequate thermal design causing overtemperature shutdowns
✗ Ignoring parasitic inductance causing voltage overshoots
✗ Using IGBTs at frequencies above their optimal range
✗ Insufficient voltage margin leading to avalanche failures

📋 Customer Cases

Solar Inverter Manufacturer

Renewable Energy

Residential String Inverter

Challenge

Customer's 5kW solar inverter was achieving only 96.5% efficiency, below the 98% target required for market competitiveness. The design used silicon IGBTs at 16kHz switching frequency.

Solution

Redesigned with ST SiC MOSFETs (SCTW90N65G2V) at 32kHz switching frequency. Reduced switching losses by 70% despite higher frequency. Optimized gate drive with 18V turn-on and -3V turn-off.

Results

Efficiency improved to 98.2%, exceeding target. Heatsink size reduced by 60%, saving $15 in BOM cost. Product became market leader in efficiency ratings and won major distributor contracts.