ROHM advances fifth-generation SiC MOSFETs

ROHM has detailed its fifth-generation SiC MOSFET technology and evolving power package portfolio, with the new devices aimed at high-efficiency conversion in automotive, industrial, AI server, datacentre, and energy applications.

The devices reduce RDS(on) at 175°C by approximately 30% compared with ROHM’s fourth-generation products under the same breakdown voltage and chip-size conditions. That reduction is intended to cut conduction losses and support smaller units with higher output power in high-temperature applications such as traction inverters.

ROHM has also highlighted higher pulsed body-diode current capability and an extended gate-voltage rating. The devices support static gate voltages from -7V to +23V, giving extra margin for transient peaks and helping gate-drive designers manage fast switching without exceeding device limits.

Samples of discrete devices and modules incorporating fifth-generation SiC MOSFETs are planned from July 2026, following earlier support for bare die business and development completion in March. Additional breakdown voltage and package options are expected as the line-up expands. The package roadmap is central to the technology because higher power density cannot be achieved through die improvements alone.

SiC devices have moved from specialist high-efficiency designs into mainstream electrification planning. Their value lies in lower losses, higher switching efficiency, higher temperature capability, and the potential to reduce passive component and cooling size. Those gains depend on gate-drive design, packaging parasitics, thermal paths, layout discipline, protection, and validation under real operating conditions.

Package performance increasingly decides whether a better die can deliver system-level improvement. The package has to carry current, remove heat, control parasitic inductance, maintain isolation, and survive mechanical and thermal cycling. As switching speeds rise, weak interconnects and poor layouts consume design margin quickly.

Power module development is advancing on parallel tracks. Dynex Semiconductor’s 450A, 650V GaN half-bridge module uses PCB embedding and double-sided cooling to reduce parasitics and improve thermal behaviour. ROHM’s SiC work operates in a different material and voltage context, but both developments show how power semiconductor progress is becoming inseparable from packaging and thermal engineering.

European power semiconductor capacity is also growing around the same demand signals. Industrial News has reported on Infineon’s €5bn Dresden power semiconductor fab, which adds intelligent power and analogue/mixed-signal capacity for electrification, AI infrastructure, and industrial systems. SiC, GaN, smart power, and advanced packages are being pulled by the same combination of EV platforms, renewable integration, grid equipment, and datacentre power density.

The benefit of ROHM’s fifth-generation SiC MOSFETs will ultimately be judged in the converter rather than the datasheet. Lower high-temperature on-resistance can reduce conduction loss, but switching loss, electromagnetic compatibility, short-circuit behaviour, thermal cycling, and mechanical integration will decide the final efficiency and reliability gain.

AI datacentres are moving toward denser conversion stages and higher-voltage distribution. EV platforms continue to push inverter efficiency, weight reduction, and charging performance. Industrial equipment is being electrified and connected to more demanding power architectures. ROHM’s fifth-generation SiC technology enters a market where power semiconductor performance is increasingly measured at system level, and where packaging, cooling, and control are now part of the device story.