Silicon-Carbide Inverter (SiC)
A silicon-carbide inverter (SiC inverter) is a traction inverter that uses silicon-carbide semiconductor switches, usually SiC MOSFETs, instead of or alongside conventional silicon devices.
What SiC changes
SiC switches can reduce switching and conduction losses in suitable operating regions. Their faster switching can also support a higher switching frequency, smaller passive components, or less cooling for a given design target.
SiC does not describe the inverter's complete architecture, voltage, control strategy, or efficiency map. The result still depends on device sizing, gate drive, switching frequency, current, temperature, cooling, packaging, and the motor operating point. Faster voltage edges can also increase electromagnetic-interference, insulation, common-mode-voltage, and bearing-current challenges.
For the complete traction-inverter context and the comparison with silicon IGBTs, see Traction Inverters in Electric Vehicles.