Reevaluating DC-Link Capacitors for SiC Inverters (Download)
Traction inverters sit at the heart of modern electric vehicles, converting the battery’s DC output into the AC power required to smoothly drive the motor. Maximizing the efficiency at which that happens is one of the major priorities for engineering teams. At the same time, teams have to look for ways to minimize the weight and cost of these inverters. These goals must also be balanced against the needs of thermal management, as reliable operation depends on not overloading the power electronics.
For decades, insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) formed the foundation of EV inverter designs. But that’s started to change over the last decade with the rise of silicon-carbide (SiC) MOSFETs.

