Panasonic to Showcase Its Power Device Products at APEC 2017 in the United States

Tampa, FL, U.S. – Panasonic Corporation will showcase its power device products at APEC 2017 (Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition 2017), which will be held in Tampa, Florida, USA, March 27 to 29, 2017.

At the APEC 2017 Panasonic booth, advanced power management solutions for automotive and industrial applications will be introduced. Panasonic will propose a wide variety of its solutions with elemental technologies at the core, from devices to sub systems to integrated products and solutions, which have been developed over the years. These include solutions to contribute to energy savings, downsizings, efficiency improvements for power conversion and better heat management on customers’ applications, such as the next generation power devices, SiC/GaN.

APEC 2017 Overview

Exhibitor Seminar

Date/Time: March 28 (Tue) 15:00 – 15:30
Place: Tampa Convention Center Room 14
Title: “X-GaN Reliability and Robust Design”

Key Exhibits

GaN power devices and relevant solutions
Panasonic’s 600V GaN power device, “X-GaN(TM)” enables size reduction and improves efficiency of power conversion systems. Employing a proprietary structure, the X-GaN power device has successfully overcome challenges GaN power devices have faced in the past, achieving the X-GaN normally-off characteristics and current collapse free. This has dramatically improved the reliability of GaN power devices. The showcase at this exhibit will include an application demonstration for industries and consumers, as well as an evaluation kit for checking X-GaN performances.

SiC embedded DC/AC “GAP-D3 Converter” for power storage systems
Equipped with the AC/AC direct converter technology embedded with the SiC device DioMOS and a bidirectional switch circuit, the DC/AC “GAP-D3 Converter” significantly reduces power loss, thereby contributing to improving the efficiency and miniaturization of our customers’ energy conversion systems.

Energy Polymer Capacitors
The “Energy Polymer Capacitor” is a novel energy storage device. It can be charged and discharged as many as 1 million cycles, boasts a high capacity on par with lead storage batteries, and is compatible to high current charge/discharge. The product will achieve size and weight reductions as well as being maintenance free for storage devices on customers’ applications.

Soft PGS (Pyrolytic Highly Oriented Graphite Sheet)
This is a graphite sheet specifically developed as a thermal interface material. When compared to ordinary PGS graphite sheets, the Soft PGS boasts high compressibility, enabling it to follow gaps, warpage, and distortion, thereby reducing thermal resistance. It is an excellent interface material that solves issues in using thermal grease or PCMs (phase change materials). The Soft PGS performs high heat release capability by diffusing the heat from the power module (IGBT module).

Passive components
Conductive Polymer Capacitors:
By adopting a conductive polymer, Panasonic has developed capacitors that are compact, significantly suppress ripple current and noise and also have excellent temperature characteristics. This enables reduction in parts thereby contributing to size reduction on customers’ applications. Panasonic offers an extensive range of conductive polymer capacitors, such as a type of high capacity with a small package and that of high reliability in accordance with customers’ purposes and applications.

Power Inductors:
With its proprietary low-loss ferrous alloy magnetic material technology, Panasonic’s Power Inductors prevent rapid decrease in inductance and realize size reduction and high bias current. These also have excellent temperature stability, so there is no inductance temperature derating, which contributes to reduction in size of power supply circuits and enhances efficiency. Panasonic provides various types of Power Inductors such as that with high capacity or with high reliability.

Current Sensing Resistors:
Panasonic’s Current Sensing Resistors offer a stable resistance value over a long period of time with its proprietary metal junction technology. Moreover, by adopting an exterior that excels at releasing heat, the product realizes a wide range of resistance values. Panasonic offers a wide range of Current Sensing Resistors with small packages, low resistance, metallic sheets and thick membranes (single/double-sided, short/long electrode).

Voltage Stabilizers for automotive applications
Equipped with a highly efficient DC/DC converter, Panasonic’s Voltage Stabilizers resolve failures in engine restart and stabilize the voltage when engines are restarted, and thereby contribute to fuel efficiency by extending engine stop time.

Backup Units for automotive applications
Embedded with charge/discharge circuits, Panasonic’s Backup Units can supply power when the lead battery fails, and can be easily installed because of the small size. Even retrofitting is possible with minimal changes to the vehicle systems.

Relays
Power Relays (over 2A), High-capacity DC Cutoff Relays (~300A): With an ample control capacity, contact arrangements, and size variations, Panasonic’s relays contribute to power sources and safety cutoff on applications.

PhotoMOS(R) Relays:
These semi-conductor relays that use LEDs as the input element and MOSFET as the output element contribute to enhance reliability and downsizing of customers’ systems.

EV Relays:
Panasonic’s EV Relays will satisfy customers’ needs with a wide range of line-ups. These EV relays have capsule contact structures optimal for applications such as battery protection and charge stands.

Features of the Panasonic GaN power devices

Panasonic’s GaN power devices realizing normally-off (*1) characteristics and current collapse free (*2) ensure the safety of inverter circuits or power supplies of applications such as a server. Panasonic’s GaN power devices also realize high-speed operation and excellent performance in high temperatures, and thereby improve power conversion efficiency and achieve the downsizing for applications.

*1: Normally-off: No current passes through unless voltage is applied.
*2: Current collapse free: Current collapse occurs when high voltage is applied and electrons become trapped near the current channels and resistance increases. Panasonic’s GaN power devices prevent this phenomenon from occurring.

Features of the Panasonic SiC power devices

Panasonic’s proprietary DioMOS (Diode-integrated MOSFET) structure enables size reduction of SiC modules by adding reflux diode functionality necessary for power supplies and inverters to transistors.

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