Single IGBT and SiC discrete transistors are available in industry standard packages such as TO-247 and TO-263 and are widely used in automotive, industrial and commercial applications. However, due to the unique, three-phase, half-bridge arrangement needed for inverters and high-power motors, two to six discrete devices built on an aluminum baseplate, encapsulated in plastic are more common. These specialized half-bridge, module packages are designed for high vibration and thermal management and can consist of SiC or IGBT switches.

IGBTs can carry large amounts of current with low saturation voltage, resulting in low conduction losses but are limited by turn-off loss, switching frequency and DC blocking capability. SiC MOSFETs are HV wide-bandgap (WBG) devices, well recognized in the industry for their superior overall advantages compared to Si based IGBT transistors. Reduced HV switching loss, better thermal capability, smaller die size, lower total gate charge, faster switching speeds and lower conduction losses have placed SiC at the forefront for HV, high-power-conversion inverters.