[Editor's Note] In response to increasing carbon dioxide emissions and global warming, the world is reducing carbon emissions according to the 2050 carbon neutral scenario. Today's electric vehicle (EV) trend was triggered by the process of the industry achieving its carbon neutrality goal, and the adoption of WBG (Wide Band Gap) semiconductors is following the increasing demand for EV charging applications. In addition, research is actively being conducted on solutions for implementing high efficiency and high power density in AC/DC and DC/DC power conversion circuits.

In the midst of this, Infineon will present a webinar titled 'Understanding Electric Vehicle Charging Market Trends and Introducing Infineon Solutions' at the e4ds EEWebinar on November 28. Sihoon Choi, Manager of Infineon Korea, will introduce Infineon’s solutions across the board, including EV charging market trends, AC/DC, and DC/DC power conversion solutions.

Prior to this, we met with Manager Choi Si-Hoon and talked about the latest trends and Infineon’s EV charging market and related solutions.
■ About recent EV charging application development trends and challenges

Since EV charging stations are basically installed outdoors, stable operation and reliability must be guaranteed in harsh environments (IP65, -45~55°C). In addition to mechanical design such as waterproofing and dustproofing, circuit design is required to ensure reliability and stability under harsh driving conditions.

Today, the trend in EV charging is moving beyond simply increasing the number of charging stations to focusing on increasing charging speed, circuit efficiency, and power density. As the demand for vehicle battery voltage and circuit efficiency increases, WBG (Wide Band Gap) devices are being actively applied, and various topologies are being thoroughly reviewed.

In addition, attempts are being actively made recently to implement a perfect eco-friendly system through the combination of EV charging and renewable energy. We are working to implement a truly eco-friendly system from the stage of generating electric energy through combination with an ESS (Energy Storage System) or solar energy system.

■ How do Infineon’s power semiconductor solutions answer these trends and challenges?

In order to maximize circuit efficiency and achieve high power density in high-capacity power applications such as EV charging, the application of WBG devices is essential. By applying WBG devices, the operating frequency of the circuit can be set much higher than when applying conventional Si devices. This allows the size of transformers and inductors in the circuit to be reduced, which in turn improves power density and reduces system weight.

In addition to Si solutions that have been proven in the market for a long time, Infineon also offers a variety of WBG solutions with high reliability and high performance.

SiC devices have highly optimized FOM (Figure Of Merit) characteristics compared to competitors. FOM is a factor that evaluates the performance of MOSFET by simultaneously considering the switching and conduction characteristics of MOSFET. The lower the value, the better the device characteristics. Infineon's SiC devices have significantly lower FOM characteristics compared to competitors.

In addition, through many years of quality control know-how and strict internal quality regulations, we boast a quality level that is far higher than that of our competitors.

■ Why AC/DC and DC/DC power conversion efficiency is important

Semiconductor devices lose power during operation, and this power loss appears as heat. A device with high power loss means that the power conversion efficiency between the circuit input and output is low, and that the device emits a lot of heat.

How the heat generated in this way is released and managed directly affects the reliability and lifespan of the system. Therefore, developers put a lot of effort and money into this heat dissipation design.

If the designed circuit has high power conversion efficiency, it can minimize the effort and cost for heat dissipation design, improve system reliability, and ultimately improve system power density.

One of the key factors that directly affects power conversion efficiency is the performance of the individual semiconductor devices applied. We can confidently say that the outstanding performance of Infineon devices has been sufficiently verified through many years of market application.

■ The special features of Infineon’s power conversion solutions are:

Infineon's SiC devices, which are being applied in high-capacity power applications such as EV charging, have many advantages.

First, the excellent FOM characteristics. Infineon's SiC devices have an excellent balance of switching and conduction characteristics, which enables high power conversion efficiency in all topologies.

The second is the convenience of application. For example, the Vgs threshold voltage of Infineon's SiC devices is relatively higher than that of other companies' devices. Therefore, the risk of unwanted turn-on due to high dv/dt application is significantly lower than that of other companies' devices. In addition, since there is no need to apply negative voltage for gate driving, the gate driving circuit can be simplified.

Third, it has excellent heat dissipation properties. In particular, Infineon's TSC (Top Side Cooling) devices have excellent thermal resistance characteristics. This allows the device junction temperature to be managed relatively low, thereby enabling the device to consume more power.

Additionally, it can reduce system cost by enabling the application of higher ON resistance (Ron) devices without exceeding the junction temperature limit of the device.

Lastly, high reliability. Infineon has many years of quality management know-how and very strict quality management regulations. These efforts are proven in the market through very low defect rates. Infineon never compromises on strict quality management, even though it can have a negative impact on mass production economics.

■ Introduction to the topics covered in this webinar related to EV charging trends

In this webinar, we will look at the trends in EV charging and introduce Infineon’s solutions to meet these technology trends. In addition to explaining the advantages of Infineon devices, we will also explain the system-level advantages that can be obtained when applying Infineon devices in individual topologies.

We hope that this webinar will provide you with an overall understanding of the EV charging market and an opportunity to learn about Infineon’s outstanding solutions.

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