Toshiba proves its power credentials at PCIM 2023

The company will use the event to showcase its latest engineering advances in making industrial and automotive power systems more efficient. These will underline the instrumental role it will play in society’s progression towards carbon neutrality.

Developed at the High Voltage Lab that Toshiba has established in Dusseldorf, the intention of the SiC-CUBE proof-of-concept is to accelerate power system implementation by leveraging parallelism. This totem-pole power factor correction (PFC) building block supports 22kW 3-phase operation. It is based on the company’s latest wide bandgap technology - featuring its third generation SiC MOSFETs, as well as Schottky barrier diodes and smart gate drivers. By having such closely matched constituent components, it has been possible to deliver a fully optimised PFC reference design platform on which highly effective power systems can be developed. Its power switching boards, plus inductor and capacitor boards, are all connected to a TMPM4K microcontroller board via individual bridge legs. The 3D stacking arrangement means major footprint savings are realised.

The SiC-CUBE has a compact 140x140x210mm form factor (which is then attached to a heatsink). The use of 650V-rated MOSFETs, rather than ones with 1200V ratings, presents a more cost-effective modular way of implementing PFC than competing solutions, with system bill-of-materials costs kept down. Thanks to the 3-level configuration, the voltage swing across each MOSFET can be restricted, so the power losses experienced are minimised. The coupling of DC-DC converter hardware to the PFC will result in the creation of off-board EV charging infrastructure, while the addition of inverter hardware will address renewable energy generation requirements.

Alongside SiC-CUBE, there will be a multi-axis robot arm demonstration. This will also rely on one of Toshiba’s TMPM4K motor control MCUs (and accompanying software) for smooth, high-precision FOC-based movement, with 3 motors being driven simultaneously. It also utilises MOSFET, photocoupler and voltage regulator technology.

Toshiba staff will be available to help visitors coming to the booth - discussing their power system applications (from e-mobility, industrial motor drives and robotics, through to solar installations), and then recommending the best solutions to the challenges they face. Several of the company’s representatives are also due to participate in the conference program, with a series of in-depth speeches covering various power-related topics.

These conferences are:

• Tuesday 9th - Development of Ag-Free Active Metal Brazing Filler for Manufacturing Copper-Si3N4 Substrates
• Tuesday 9th - Current Adjustable Gate Drive IC with Propagation Delay Reduction Technique for High-Speed Power Transistors
• Tuesday 9th - Multi-Level SiC Power Design for PFC and DC/DC Conversion
• Thursday 11th - Novel 2200V Schottky Barrier Diode-Embedded SiC MOSFET Module
• Thursday 11th - Mixed-Signal Gate Driver IC and Control Schemes for Modern Power Semiconductor Devices