New Wolfspeed Silicon Carbide Semiconductors First to Meet Automotive AEC-Q101 Standards

Wolfspeed, A Cree Company and leader in silicon carbide (SiC) power products, announces E-Series^™, a new family of robust SiC semiconductor devices for the Electric Vehicle (EV) and renewable energy markets that delivers the highest available power density and durability for on-board automotive power conversion systems, off-board charging, solar inverters and other outdoor applications. Wolfspeed’s E-Series family is the first commercial family of SiC MOSFETs and diodes to be automotive AEC-Q101 qualified and PPAP capable. The designation makes it the only commercially available family of SiC MOSFETs and diodes that meet high-humidity and automotive qualifications to deliver some of the most reliable and corrosion-resistant components in the power market today.

"The new E-Series^™ family provides automotive manufacturers with robust, automotive-qualified MOSFETs and diodes for on-board and off-board charging circuits, which are crucial to the evolution of EV technology,” said Cengiz Balkas, senior vice president and general manager of Wolfspeed. "The commercial rollout of the E-Series family establishes Wolfspeed as the first in the industry to launch a full suite of MOSFETs and diodes that are capable of withstanding high-humidity environments while offering the reliability and system-level value needed to drive widespread adoption of silicon carbide among automakers for their next generation of EVs.”

With the new automotive-qualified SiC MOSFET, Wolfspeed becomes the first and only silicon carbide semiconductor manufacturer to offer a complete family of qualified parts to the EV market. The portfolio expansion also enables Wolfspeed to supply power conversion components within an EV for an end-to-end solution.

The E-Series family includes:

• The new E-Series SiC MOSFET is the only automotive AEC-Q101 qualified, PPAP capable and humidity resistant MOSFET available in the industry. It features Wolfspeed’s third generation rugged planar technology, which has more than 10 billion field hours. Offering the industry’s lowest switching losses and highest figure of merit, the E-Series 900V MOSFET is optimized for use in EV battery chargers and high voltage DC/DC converters and is featured in Wolfspeed’s 6.6kW B-Directional On-Board Charger reference design, which can be found here.
• The new E-Series Merged-PIN Schottky Diodes (MPS) deliver high reliability for on-board power conversion systems and solar inverters, complementing Wolfspeed’s existing AEC-Q101 qualified 650V SiC diode portfolio. The diodes deliver a 1200V blocking capability with a current rating up to 20A at a T_J,Max = 175°C. Reference designs for the E-Series diodes are available here, including Wolfspeed’s 20kW Two-Level AFE and DC/DC Converter for Off-Board Chargers, which delivers more than 30 percent reduction in power loss when compared to existing three level Vienna Rectifiers.

The E-Series family also addresses the key challenge in designing and maintaining solar power systems: finding products that can withstand extremely harsh environmental conditions while maintaining peak performance. Since corrosion caused by humidity is a major consideration when designing outdoor power systems, the key qualification for harsh environments is the HV-H3TRB rating (also known as HVDC THB or THB80). The HV-H3TRB qualification testing was performed at 80 percent of the rated blocking voltage in an environmental chamber at a constant 85°C ambient with 85 percent relative humidity. Both the E-Series MOSFETs and diodes are HV-H3TRB rated, which means they are optimized for use in solar inverters and other outdoor systems as well as EVs.

Visit http://www.wolfspeed.com/e-series for more complete technical information about Wolfspeed’s new E-Series products. Visit http:// www.wolfspeed.com/power for additional information about Wolfspeed^™ power products.

About Cree

Cree is an innovator of Wolfspeed^™ power and radio frequency (RF) semiconductors, lighting class LEDs and lighting products. Cree’s Wolfspeed product families include SiC materials, power-switching devices and RF devices targeted for applications such as electric vehicles, fast charging, inverters, power supplies, telecom and military and aerospace. Cree’s LED product families include blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs and lighting-class power LEDs targeted for indoor and outdoor lighting, video displays, transportation and electronic signs and signals. Cree’s LED lighting systems and lamps serve indoor and outdoor applications. Please refer to www.cree.com or www.wolfspeed.com for additional product and Company information.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including customer acceptance of our new products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree’s products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 25, 2017, and subsequent filings.

Cree^® is a registered trademark, and Wolfspeed^™, E-Series^™, and C3M^™ are trademarks of Cree, Inc.

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