Member Spotlight: Wolfspeed, a Cree Company
“Through PowerAmerica, we get close interaction with potential users and customers of our products which gives us the opportunity to understand their needs and narrow our focus. The Institute is also playing a critical role in training young and existing engineers on SiC and GaN technologies; truly capitalizing on the opportunity we have here to build a strong power electronics community that will revolutionize U.S. manufacturing.”
– David Grider, PhD, Wolfspeed Power Electronics Program Manager
Company Background
Wolfspeed has spent more than 28 years as part of Cree Inc., building market-leading wide bandgap semiconductor products for the transportation, industrial, energy, and communications markets before announcing it would spin-off into its own company in an IPO. From its young and ambitious roots in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, Wolfspeed has grown into the world’s leading innovator and manufacturer of SiC and GaN wide bandgap semiconductors for Power and RF applications that enable increased efficiency, higher switching speed, as well as reduced system size and weight.
Wolfspeed has the world’s largest SiC and GaN wide bandgap semiconductor Power and RF fabrication facility, with $124 million in revenue in FY 2015. With the acquisition of Fayetteville, Arkansas-based Arkansas Power Electronics (APEI) in 2015, the company added a packaging and power modules capability to its SiC power electronics portfolio.
PowerAmerica Partnership
Wolfspeed, a Cree company, is working to establish the reliability of its medium-voltage (3.3kV to 10kV) SiC power device technology – a costly and time-consuming process that is also critical for commercial production of these medium voltage SiC power devices. PowerAmerica funding is helping to accelerate this reliability testing in order to hasten the introduction of these medium-voltage SiC power products into the commercial marketplace for a wide range of transportation, motor drive, power distribution, and grid-tied power electronics applications.
Wolfspeed expertise can benefit members in many ways such as:
- Providing access to a broad voltage and power range (900V to 10kV) of SiC power devices and power modules, including both die and packaged SiC devices, in order to advance the SiC power electronics industry.
- Providing application support for 900V to 10kV SiC power devices and power modules in order to accelerate the application of SiC power technology in a broad range of power electronics applications.
Initiatives in Wide Bandgap Power Electronics:
- Wolfspeed, a Cree company, has repeatedly demonstrated its position as a market leader in the development and commercialization of SiC power technology by achieving a number of critical milestones:
- 2002 – Released our first 600V SiC JBS Schottky Diode
- 2006 – Released industry’s first 1200V SiC JBS Schottky Diode
- 2010 – Released industry’s first 1700V SiC JBS Schottky Diode
- 2011 – Released industry’s first 1200V SiC MOSFET
- 2012 – Introduced our first 1200V SiC half-bridge power module
- 2014 – Introduced industry’s first 1200V, 25mOhm SiC MOSFET
- 2015 – Acquired Arkansas Power Electronics International (APEI) for
advanced SiC power modules and packaging - 2015 – Exceeded two trillion hours of field operation for our
SiC power products - 2015 – Introduced industry’s first 900V SiC MOSFET
- Wolfspeed is continuing the development and commercialization of advanced 900V to 1700V SiC MOSFET and 600V to 1700V SiC Schottky diode devices as well as 900V to 1700V SiC power modules
- Wolfspeed is continuing the development and commercialization of advanced 3.3kV to 10kV SiC MOSFET and 3.3kV to 10kV SiC Schottky diode devices as well as 3.3kV to 10kV SiC power modules
Engage with us:
- To learn more about Wolfspeed, a Cree company, and our broad range of SiC and GaN wide bandgap Power and RF products please visit:
com/ - For further information on advanced SiC power products, PowerAmerica members can contact David Grider at grider@wolfspeed.com or call him at (919) 407-5345.
