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Up to 40% More Efficient:
TOSHIBA SiC MOSFETs in 4-Pin Housing

TOSHIBA has expanded its 3rd generation SiC MOSFETs with derivatives in a 4-pin package.

The new fourth pin enables unrivalled efficiency in the area of switching losses.
This means that significantly less energy is converted into heat. This has a particularly positive effect in demanding applications. Whether more power with the same cooler size or generally smaller form factors in your application - one thing is certain: you win!

But how exactly does just one pin achieve such benefits?

Via the Kelvin source connection!
With 3-pin housings, control and power must share one pin. So there is always a double assignment. This in turn leads to various disadvantages. The fourth pin offers the solution. It is an independent Kelvin source connection for the control signal. This eliminates the effect of the parasitic inductance of the power circuit on the control and significantly improves the switching behaviour.
A direct comparison of the TW045Z120C (4-pin) with the TW045N120C (3-pin) shows a 40 % increase in efficiency when switching on. When switching off, it is increased by 34%.

What the 3rd generation components have in common is that they have a special component structure. In this case, a Schottky barrier diode (SBD) is arranged in parallel with the parasitic PN diode.

This brings decisive advantages:

Increased diode efficiency
The typical forward voltage is only 1.35 V. The known competitors are in the range of 3.2 to 4.6 V.

High-performance diodes
The Shottky barrier diodes of the TOSHIBA components are specified for the full rated current of the SiC MOSFETs. This is important for totem-pole PFC circuits, for example.

Savings on parasitic inductances
Components with a dedicated diode (co-pack) require additional bonding wires.
By integrating the Schottky barrier diode on the chip, these bonding wires are no longer required.
This benefits the switching behaviour and reduces interference.

More efficient drivers
Thanks to the new chip structure, the figure-of-merit (FOM), i.e. the Ron*Qgd value, has been reduced by 80 % compared to the 2nd generation. This means that TOSHIBA currently offers the lowest value on the market.
As a result, the drivers work much more efficiently and the switching speed is increased.
This leads to a considerable increase in efficiency when used in modern, fast-switching applications.

Safe control
The TOSHIBA 3rd generation components offer two fundamental advantages over the competition when it comes to control. Firstly, at -10 to 25 V, they have the widest gate-source voltage range. This enables a comfortable reserve of around 18 V for the usual SiC MOSFET operation.
Secondly, the low range of the threshold voltage Vth protects against unintentional switching.
With just 3 V to 5 V, gate voltage fluctuations or noise no longer pose a challenge.
The design of the gate driver therefore requires fewer components, which reduces costs and at the same time enables reliable switching behaviour.

Long-term stable RDS(ON)
The intrinsic diode of a SiC MOSFET has a direct influence on the long-term stability of the RDS(ON).
With derivatives that use the body diode, the RDS(ON) can increase by more than 40 % after just a few hours of operation - with the 3rd generation TOSHIBA SiC MOSFETs, this value is limited to an excellent value of less than 3 % even after a thousand hours.

Temperature-stable RDS(ON)
If the channel temperature of a MOSFET increases, its channel resistance unfortunately also increases.
This effect is particularly pronounced with a silicon MOSFET.
At an operating temperature of 125 °C, for example, the RDS(ON) will be 2 to 3 times higher than the data sheet value that is usually specified at 25 °C.
This effect is generally much less pronounced with SiC MOSFETs. Here, the 125 °C values of the RDS(ON) are usually 40 - 60 % higher.
In contrast, the value of the TW027N65C from TOSHIBA, for example, rises from 28.6 mΩ at 25 °C to just 29.9 mΩ at 125 °C. That is just 5 % of the original value.

You can experience the advantages of TOSHIBA SiC MOSFETs for yourself with the following components:

VDSS (V)	Package	Package	Part Number	Electrical Characteristics
				ID (A)	RDS(ON) typ. (mΩ)
650	TO-247		TW015N65C	100	15
			TW027N65C	58	27
			TW048N65C	40	48
			TW083N65C	30	83
			TW107N65C	20	107
	TO-247-4L(X)		TW015Z65C	100	15
			TW027Z65C	58	27
			TW048Z65C	40	48
			TW083Z65C	30	83
			TW107Z65C	20	107

VDSS (V)	Package	Package	Part Number	Electrical Characteristics
				ID (A)	RDS(ON) typ. (mΩ)
1.200	TO-247		TW015N120C	100	15
			TW030N120C	60	30
			TW045N120C	40	45
			TW060N120C	36	60
			TW140N120C	20	140
	TO-247-4L(X)		TW015Z120C	100	15
			TW030Z120C	60	30
			TW045Z120C	40	45
			TW060Z120C	36	60
			TW140Z120C	20	140

Do you also need SiC diodes with 650 V reverse voltage? These are also available in the 3rd generation.

Further information from our GLYN Power experts is just a phone call or e-mail away.