Power efficiency is the name of the game for today’s chip designs, especially applications in electric vehicles (EV), renewable energy, cloud computing, and mobile. It’s not hard to see why reducing energy losses can result in huge benefits. In EVs, for instance, we can experience less time to charge, faster acceleration, longer range, and more. At the root of these benefits is an efficient power device.
Power semiconductor devices are the workhorses of power management systems. They are typically used as switching devices and rectifiers, with the ability to change the voltage or frequency of an electrical current. As they are designed to operate in the ON state, the goal is to optimize usage in this mode.
Beyond efficiency, power devices provide regulated power to systems or integrated circuits (ICs), ensuring more reliable operation. The drive for greater efficiency and reliability has created a need for larger devices, increasing the cost and time to market. This is one of the reasons why power device designers are moving to silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN); these materials’ lower resistivity allows for higher efficiencies in smaller packaging.
Read on to learn more about the challenges in power semiconductor device design, how Synopsys Power Device Workbench helps address these issues, and its key features that improve efficiency.
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