To increase the efficiency of the power supply in industrial processes, thereby saving energy and CO2, the aim of the new joint "MMPSiC": Researchers at the Light Technology Institute (LTI) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) examine together with the industrial partners TRUMPF Hüttinger and IXYS Semiconductor the use of power semiconductor switches of silicon carbide. The Federal Research Ministry is supporting the project with around 800,000 euros.
Of the semiconductor manufacturing over the coating of displays to processes in the automotive industry: Many industrial processes consume large amounts of electrical energy. Among these are technologies that will play an important role in the energy transition, as the zone melting method (float zone method) for producing high purity crystalline materials: The substance is electrically fused in a narrow zone; the melting zone is gradually continued. Behind the melting zone crystallized substance purer than before. The zone melting method provides, among other high-purity silicon single crystals for the manufacture of solar cells.
Power supply of zone melting systems based on tube technology systems are used to now having an electrical efficiency of up to 65 percent. By switching to power semiconductor silicon carbide, the efficiency of the process power supply could be increased to over 80 percent. This would save large amounts of electrical energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For example, for a single float-zone scale plant would result consisting of 20 x 150 kW-process power supplies, with an annual duration of 4800 hours, a savings of more than 200,000 kWh of electrical energy and 109 tonnes of CO2 (Umweltbundesamt, as of July 2013).
The feasibility of such a process power supplies, researchers at the Light Technology Institute (LTI) of KIT together with the partners TRUMPF Hüttinger GmbH + Co. KG (Freiburg) and IXYS Semiconductor GmbH (Lampertheim) in the joint project "Modular medium frequency process power supply with silicon carbide semiconductor power switches" (MMPSiC) , As the semiconductor material Silicon Carbide offers several advantages: Thanks to the larger electronic band gap allows much higher operating temperatures than conventional semiconductors. Power electronics with silicon carbide is characterized by higher energy efficiency and compactness.
"When the power of energy-intensive industrial applications such as the zone melting method, it is necessary to switch at high frequencies," says the project director, Dr. Rainer Kling from LTI of KIT. "Silicon carbide is not yet tested for these high frequencies; so that we are breaking new ground. "In addition to examining the long-term stability include the control and the layout of the circuit to the tasks of the KIT researchers in the joint project MMPSiC.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports MMPSiC project on the basis of the program "Information and Communication Technology 2020" (ICT 2020) as part of the funding program "Power electronics to increase energy efficiency" (LES 2) with around 800,000 euros. Of which receives the LTI KIT around 439,000 euros. Overall, the project volume is 1.3 million euros. The joint project started in 2014 and is planned for three years.
Source: KIT
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