New MOSFET technology gives improved power density and efficiency
The latest superjunction silicon MOSFETs from STMicroelectronics, based on MDmesh M9 process technology, help to reduce power losses in circuits based on hard-switching or resonant topologies.
STMicroelectronics has introduced MDmesh M9 superjunction power MOSFETs, offering the industry’s best figure-of-merit for on-resistance x gate charge in its class. Use of the MDmesh M9 MOSFETs enables designers to substantially reduce power losses in power systems in communications equipment, microinverters and resonant dc-dc converters.
The MDmesh M9 series sets a new benchmark for 650 V and 600 V superjunction MOSFETs, offering a reduction of around 30% in on-state resistance compared to the previous technology. This enables developers to increase power density and realize more compact power-system designs based on hard- or soft-switching topologies.
The STPower N-channel MOSFET product range, which is available in versions for industrial and for automotive applications, also includes 250 V-rated medium voltage MOSFETs.
Among the range of 650 V MDmesh M9 devices is the STW65N045M9-4, which has maximum on-resistance of 45 mΩ. On-resistance as a function of area is very low, as is gate charge, which is just 80 nC at a 400 V drain voltage.
The MDmesh M9 technology reduces both turn-on and turn-off switching losses compared with the earlier MDmesh M5 technology. The MDmesh M9 MOSFETs also feature very low reverse-recovery charge and reverse-recovery time, helping to improve efficiency and switching performance.
An essential element of the MDmesh M9 technology is an additional platinum diffusion process which produces a fast intrinsic body diode. The peak diode-recovery slope, dV/dt, is also greater than for earlier processes.