Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced the development of the world's first inverter using SiC (Silicon Carbide) diodes for vehicle use. The company has launched tests using an X-TRAIL FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle) equipped with this technology.

Inverters on electric-powered vehicles control the electricity coming from the power source, and their size has often set limitations on vehicle layout. The newly developed inverter uses SiC for the diodes - a semiconductor device used to control the flow of current in a single direction - and employs a new Nissan-developed heterojunction diode (HJD) structure. Together the SiC diode and HJD structure reduce the overall size and weight of the inverter and dramatically improve its reliability.

Previous silicon diodes used in electric-powered vehicles created power losses and required heat dissipation countermeasures. The newly developed SiC diode provides high power efficiency with improved heat resistance and reliability to create a high breakdown voltage, large capacity inverter. The new SiC inverter's diode surface has been reduced by 70% and the circuit energy efficiency has been improved by 20% in comparison to previous diodes. The simplification of the system's cooling mechanisms allows for further reductions in the size and weight of the inverter by 15% to 20%.

The new SiC diode technology is not limited to fuel cell vehicles, but can also be applied to the electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) currently under development by Nissan. At Nissan, the inverter is regarded as one of the key technologies in electric-powered vehicle development along with the motor and the battery. The company aims to further reduce the inverter size by employing SiC diodes on the transistor.

Under the Nissan Green Program 2010, the company will continue to introduce new technologies, products and services that can lead to real-world reductions in vehicle CO2 emissions, cleaner emissions, and recycling of resources.

Courtesy: Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Japan

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Posted by Jigar Gondalia on 5 September, 2008 1:45:00 PM IST #