Wolfspeed's highly flexible 4th generation MOSFET technology platform provides long-term development planning support for high-performance, application optimized products

The improvement of overall efficiency helps to reduce system costs, shorten development time, and maximize application life, representing a key advancement in silicon carbide technology

On February 12, 2025, in Durham, North Carolina, USA and Shanghai, China, Wolfspeed (NYSE: WOLF), a global leader in silicon carbide technology, recently released a new 4th generation technology platform that considers durability and efficiency from the design end, while also reducing system costs and shortening development time. The fourth generation technology is designed to simplify common switching behaviors and design challenges in high-power design, and has developed a long-term development roadmap for Wolfspeed's various products, including power modules, discrete components, and bare chip products. These products are currently available in 750 V, 1200 V, and 2300 V grades.

Jay Cameron, Senior Vice President of Power Products at Wolfspeed, said, "We know that the design of each application has a unique set of requirements. From the beginning, our goal for the fourth generation technology was to improve overall system efficiency in actual operating environments, with a focus on providing the highest performance at the system level. The fourth generation technology enables design engineers to create more efficient, longer lasting systems that perform well in harsh operating environments, and also have better overall system cost performance

Silicon carbide technology is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the power device market and the broader semiconductor industry. As an excellent alternative to silicon, silicon carbide is an ideal choice for high-power applications such as electric vehicle powertrains, electric transportation, renewable energy systems, battery energy storage systems, and AI data centers. It not only enhances performance but also reduces system costs.

As the world seeks more efficient and environmentally friendly solutions to meet the growing demand for high-voltage energy, strategic investments must continue to consolidate its technological advantages while driving innovation in key technological areas.

Innovative technology brings business opportunities, "said Devin Dilley, President and Chief Product Officer of EPC Power, a US utility scale inverter manufacturer." Wolfspeed's new 4th generation silicon carbide technology enables EPC Power to achieve a disruptive change in energy generation and storage methods on a global scale

Wolfspeed Executive Chairman Tom Werner said, "Wolfspeed has consistently driven continuous innovation and brought our silicon carbide solutions to an increasing number of industries to address increasingly challenging application scenarios. Our fourth generation technology will rely on our efficient delivery of 200mm wafers, which will enable us to achieve unprecedented production scale and yield levels in the industry

Wolfspeed's fourth generation technology aims to comprehensively improve system efficiency, extend application lifespan, even in the harshest environments, while helping to reduce system costs and shorten development time. This technology will bring significant performance improvements to designers of high-power vehicles, industrial and renewable energy systems, with main advantages including:

Overall system efficiency: At operating temperature, the on resistance is reduced by up to 21%, and switch losses are reduced by up to 15%.

Durability: Ensure reliable performance, including a short-circuit withstand time of up to 2.3 μ S, to provide additional safety margin.

Lower system costs: Simplify the design process, reduce system costs, and shorten development time.

Product supply

Wolfspeed's fourth generation technology offers three voltage node specifications of 750 V, 1200 V, and 2300 V, with power modules, discrete components, and bare chip products to choose from. New products will be launched throughout 2025 and early 2026, including more package sizes and various RDSON series.

The content of the 4th generation technical situation manual:

Durable and long-lasting design, capable of handling the most demanding environments with ease

As automotive, industrial, and renewable energy manufacturers continue to promote product electrification, product reliability and durability have become crucial. The design philosophy of Wolfspeed's fourth generation technology is aimed at this goal, with durability as a key expectation.

The fourth generation technology has a short-circuit withstand time of up to 2.3 μ S, providing additional safety margin for critical applications. In addition, compared to previous technologies, the failure rate (FIT) of this platform can achieve up to 100 times improvement, ensuring reliable performance at different altitudes. The body diode design enhances the durability of the system, enabling faster switching speeds, reduced losses, and decreased ringing, resulting in an 80% reduction in VDS overshoot. The fourth generation bare chip is capable of continuous operation at 185 ° C and limited lifespan operation at 200 ° C, bringing positive effects to product development and market promotion for high-temperature application scenarios. This allows designers to flexibly push their designs towards ultimate performance.

Overall system efficiency: aimed at comprehensively improving system efficiency

The fourth generation technology has reached an important milestone in overall efficiency. Whether in soft switch or hard switch applications, Wolfspeed's 4th generation technology can reduce the specific on resistance by up to 21% under operating temperature conditions; In hard switch applications, thanks to the fourth generation technology, switch losses have been reduced by up to 15%.

These efficiency improvement advantages, combined with the high-temperature on resistance feature of the fourth generation technology, further demonstrate Wolfspeed's determination and commitment to ensuring reliable performance of products in practical application scenarios.

System cost reduction: aimed at reducing system costs and shortening development time

In order to address system cost concerns, Wolfspeed's new platform can use smaller and more cost-effective passive and filtering components, ultimately achieving the goal of shortening system development time and reducing costs. In addition, the fourth generation technology can increase power output by up to 30% within the same package size range. The fourth generation technology can integrate a design of a new type of soft recovery diode, which can significantly reduce EMI during reverse recovery, simplify the EMI certification process, and enable the use of smaller EMI filters. The capacitance ratio of the fourth generation MOSFET devices is as high as 600, which can achieve safer and smoother switching actions at high dV/dt without parasitic overshoot.