During tests, the module – which includes two 1200V silicon carbide bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) – switched 500V at room temperature and 200V at 300°C.
“Co-location of BJT base driver circuitry and power transistors into a single high temperature module is a major industry breakthrough,” said David Gordon, technical lead with Raytheon’s IPS. “For example, in many instances, it is necessary to switch power stage transistors at tens of kHz and that requires getting the base driver circuitry as close as possible to the power transistors. However, in a high temperature environment that presents a problem. Raytheon’s HiTSiC CMOS circuitry on the other hand was designed to operate at 300°C and has been tested at considerably higher temperatures.”
The module is packaged in a 32pin hermetic dual in line ceramic package measuring 40 x 23mm.