Wolfspeed Introduces Industry's First Commercially Available 10,000 V Silicon Carbide Power MOSFET

Key Terms

silicon carbide technical

Silicon carbide is a hard, durable material made from silicon and carbon, often used in industrial applications like cutting tools and electronics. Its ability to withstand high temperatures and conduct electricity efficiently makes it valuable in manufacturing advanced electronic devices. For investors, companies working with silicon carbide are seen as key players in the growing market for high-performance electronics and energy-efficient technologies.

mosfet technical

A MOSFET is a tiny electronic switch used to control the flow of electricity in chips and circuits, functioning like a faucet that turns current on or off and adjusts how much passes through. Investors watch MOSFETs because their performance, cost and availability affect product power efficiency, manufacturing yields and supply chains for industries from consumer electronics to electric vehicles, which in turn can influence companies’ margins and growth prospects.

time-dependent dielectric breakdown technical

Time-dependent dielectric breakdown is the gradual failure of an insulating layer inside a semiconductor device that occurs when an electric field slowly damages the material until it starts leaking or shorting. Think of the insulator as a thin waterproof coating that develops holes after prolonged stress; when it fails, devices can malfunction or die. Investors care because this failure mode affects chip reliability, manufacturing yields, warranty costs and product reputation, all of which influence revenue and margins.

body diode technical

An internal semiconductor diode that sits inside certain power transistors and lets current flow in one direction when the transistor is reversed, like a built‑in one‑way valve. For investors, it matters because that inherent path can create unwanted heat, energy loss or the need for extra components in power electronics, affecting product efficiency, reliability and manufacturing cost for companies making chips or devices.

inverters technical

Inverters are devices that convert direct current (DC) electricity into alternating current (AC) that homes, businesses, and the electric grid use; think of them as translators that let battery or solar power speak the same language as everyday appliances. Investors care because an inverter’s efficiency, durability and capacity directly affect how much usable power a project produces, operating costs, and the return on investments in solar, storage and electric equipment.

solid-state transformers technical

A solid-state transformer is an electrical device that uses power electronics instead of heavy metal coils to change voltage and steer electricity, acting like a digitally controlled, much lighter version of a traditional transformer. For investors, it matters because these units can boost efficiency, add fast remote control and protection features, and enable modern grid uses — such as electric-vehicle charging and renewable energy integration — which can change infrastructure costs and create new technology markets.

spark-gap switches technical

A spark-gap switch is a simple electrical device that opens or closes a high-voltage circuit by forcing a controlled electrical spark to jump across a small air gap, much like a tiny controlled lightning strike. Investors should care because these switches affect the safety, reliability and regulatory compliance of high-voltage equipment — issues that can influence product costs, warranty exposure and market acceptance for companies in power, industrial or defense sectors.

Revolutionary 10 kV SiC Technology Delivers Game-Changing Solution for Grid Modernization, Industrial Electrification and AI Data Center Infrastructure

DURHAM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Wolfspeed, Inc., a global leader in silicon carbide (SiC) technology, today announced the industry's first commercially available 10 kV SiC power MOSFET. This milestone marks a defining moment in the industry — unlocking architectural freedom, delivering unprecedented system durability, and advancing access to reliable and sustainable power for the world's most demanding applications. This groundbreaking advancement challenges conventions in power conversion technology, delivering a transformative solution to modernize the grid and critical power infrastructure, to accelerate industrial electrification, and to unleash the potential for AI data center growth.

Wolfspeed's 10 kV Bare Die MOSFET

“This represents a historic leap in power electronics that will reshape how the world generates, distributes, and uses energy, unlocking the potential for modernization and more efficient power conversion," said Dr. Subhashish Bhattacharya, Duke Energy Distinguished Professor at North Carolina State University. "The timing of Wolfspeed's commercialization could not be better. The world is racing to connect AI data centers to the grid, and this will be the enabling technology for future generations of solid-state transformers at that critical grid interface.”

Read how this enables grid modernization in this article, “Answering the Call: Powering AI with Reliable Silicon Carbide-Based Solid-State Transformers”.

Unparalleled Reliability for Power Critical Applications

The 10 kV SiC MOSFET sets a new standard for durability and performance, with intrinsic time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) lifetime analysis predicting 158,000 years of operation at continuous 20 V gate bias voltage. As the first in the industry to solve bipolar degradation of 10 kV SiC MOSFETs, the device maintains reliable performance including body diode usage — essential for mid-voltage UPS systems, wind power, and solid-state transformer applications.

Architectural Freedom: Simplified Systems, Lower Cost of Ownership

The availability of SiC technology at 10 kV enables design flexibility that was not possible before, delivering a step function improvement in system’s size, weight, reliability, and cost of ownership.

• Reduce system cost by approximately 30%: Using 10 kV SiC allows simpler system architectures consolidating multi-cell designs into fewer cells and downsizing three-level inverters to a two-level topology
• Improve power density by more than 300%: Increasing switching frequencies from 600 Hz to 10,000 Hz simplifies control and gate drive circuitry, while also shrinking magnetics
• Reduce system-level thermal requirements by up to 50%: Achieving 99% conversion efficiency enables simpler and more efficient thermal management compared to silicon IGBT-based systems

Realizing Pulsed-Power Potential: Enabling Next-Generation Applications

With a faster rise time of less than 10 nanoseconds, the new technology enables the replacement of conventional mechanical spark-gap switches — which degrade over time due to high-current, extremely high-temperature arcing that drives up maintenance costs and total cost of ownership — with SiC MOSFET-based solid-state switches. These solid-state devices eliminate arcing, enable efficient energy transfer, and improve timing precision of pulsed power transfer, while also reducing size and system complexity for high-performance pulsed-power applications including geothermal power, power generation for AI data centers, semiconductor plasma etching, and sustainable fertilizer production.

“This milestone is a culmination of nearly 30 years of vertically integrated crystal growth, thick epitaxy, and high voltage device manufacturing excellence,” said Dr. Cengiz Balkas, Wolfspeed chief business officer. “The commercialization of 10 kV MOSFETs enables our customers who have been prototyping at this voltage to transition their designs to production, accelerating time to market. We're not just ushering in a new era for high-voltage SiC - we're making it real.”

The 10 kV CPM3-10000-0300A SiC MOSFET die is available now for customer sampling and qualification.

About Wolfspeed

Wolfspeed (NYSE: WOLF) leads the market in the worldwide adoption of silicon carbide technologies. As the pioneers of silicon carbide, power modules and devices for a broad range of applications, the company brings you The Power to Make It Real.™ Learn more at wolfspeed.com.

Wolfspeed™ and The Power to Make it Real™ are registered trademarks of Wolfspeed, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305878367/en/

Tyler Gronbach
Wolfspeed, Inc.
Vice President of External Affairs
Phone: 919-407-4820
investorrelations@wolfspeed.com

Source: Wolfspeed, Inc.