SiC E-Fuse cuts off EV drive current in microseconds

Overload in electric drives SiC E-Fuse cuts off EV drive current in microseconds

2023-05-14 Source: Press release 2 min Reading Time

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An E-Fuse demonstrator based on SiC, introduced by Microchip, is intended to provide developers of electric vehicle (EV) drives with a faster and more reliable solution for the protection of high-voltage circuits in the event of a fault.

Microchip's E-Fuse Demonstrator disconnects high-voltage circuits in electric vehicle drives faster and more reliably in the event of a fault.(Image: Microchip Technology) — Microchip's E-Fuse Demonstrator disconnects high-voltage circuits in electric vehicle drives faster and more reliably in the event of a fault.
(Image: Microchip Technology)

In the event of an overload, high-voltage subsystems in battery-powered and hybrid electric vehicles need a fast and reliable mechanism to protect the high-voltage distribution and loads. An E-Fuse demonstrator introduced by Microchip at the PCIM trade fair in Nuremberg can detect and interrupt fault currents in microseconds.

According to the manufacturer, the solution based on silicon carbide technology (SiC) reacts 100 to 500 times faster than with conventional mechanical approaches. This rapid response time reduces the short-circuit peak currents from several tens of kA to 100 A, preventing a fault event from leading to a severe failure. The E-Fuse Demonstrator Board is available in six variants for battery systems from 400 to 800 V with a current strength of up to 30 A.

Load separation without arcing or contact bounce

Clayton Pillion, Vice President of the SiC Business Unit at Microchip, said: "The E-Fuse Demonstrator offers BEV/HEV manufacturers and suppliers a SiC-based solution to advance their development process with a faster, more reliable method of protecting the power electronics. The semiconductor-based E-Fuse also reduces concerns about the reliability of electromechanical systems, as there is no impairment due to mechanical vibrations, arcing, or contact bounce."

With the resettable function of the E-Fuse demonstrator, developers can easily integrate an E-Fuse into the vehicle without needing to adhere to maintenance requirements. This reduces design complexity and allows for flexible packaging of vehicle parts for final assembly to improve the distribution of BEV/HEV power systems.

Configuration via LIN interface

OEMs can speed up the development of additional SiC-based applications with the E-Fuse Demonstrator using the integrated LIN interface. This allows the configuration of the overcurrent trip characteristic without the need to change hardware components. Additionally, the diagnostic status is transmitted. With the LIN Serial Analyzer Tool, developers can easily send and receive serial messages between a PC and the E-Fuse Demonstrator Board.

The E-Fuse Demonstrator is based on the manufacturer's SiC MOSFET technology and the Core Independent Peripherals of the PIC microcontrollers with a LIN-based interface. The associated components are automotive-qualified, reduce the bill of materials, and provide more reliability than a discrete design.

To enable users to quickly develop or debug their software, the E-Fuse Demonstrator Board, available in limited quantities as a sample, is supported by the integrated development environment (IDE) MPLAB X. (cg)

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