Denso developed a new power semiconductor to reduce energy loss by 20%
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Update time : 2022-07-25 18:24:21
According to media reports, Japanese automotive parts supplier Denso has developed a power semiconductor device for electric vehicles that can reduce energy loss by 20 percent, which can help models equipped with the product stand out in the expanding electric vehicle market.
Power supply chips and analog semiconductor devices that monitor the health of the battery are critical to the performance of electric vehicles. Denso is enhancing the in-house development and production of these components, but for other battery chips, Denso has chosen to outsource the design and manufacturing.
Denso will work to make its silicon-based power chips more cost-competitive. Its new RC-IGBT integrates a diode into an insulated gate bipolar transistor power semiconductor device that is 30 percent smaller than existing products on the market, while also reducing power losses.
In April, Denso announced a partnership with United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), a contract chipmaker in Taiwan, China, and will produce power semiconductors on 300mm wafers at UMC's manufacturing facility in Japan starting as early as next year.
The larger the wafer, the higher the production efficiency. Denso's 300mm wafers can therefore reduce costs by about 20% compared to standard 200mm wafers. In addition, Denso is also working on a next-generation power semiconductor made from silicon carbide. Such semiconductors have lower losses and can reduce power consumption by about 10%.
Denso Chief Technology Officer Yoshifumi Kato said: "Semiconductors will play an increasingly important role in the next generation of vehicles. We will bring in-house materials and design flow to power and analog chips.