Microchip Launches 3.3 kV mSiC Modules to Halve Device Count in AI Data Center Solid-State Transformers

Microchip Technology (Nasdaq: MCHP) launched its 3.3 kV HV-D3 mSiC power modules on May 26, 2026, from Chandler, Arizona, designed to accelerate adoption of solid-state transformers (SSTs) that deliver power from the medium-voltage grid directly to the server rack in AI hyperscale data centers. The modules integrate 3.3 kV silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs and Schottky diodes in an industry-standard 62 mm package, and Microchip says they roughly halve the number of series-connected devices needed when interfacing 13.8 kV or 34.5 kV grids compared with lower-voltage SiC alternatives.

What Was Announced

The HV-D3 mSiC modules use Microchip’s mSiC MOSFET technology and are built for high-voltage operation: the package supports 6 kV isolation, incorporates CTI 600-rated materials and uses extended creepage distances to allow safe series connection. A silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) substrate improves thermal conductivity and power-cycling capability, letting designers reach higher power density with less aggressive cooling. The modules come in half-bridge and common-source configurations, with or without anti-parallel Schottky diodes, and target the 100–300 A range. Clayton Pillion, vice president of Microchip’s high-power solutions business unit, said the 100–300 A devices “address a key gap in the industrial market,” bridging discrete SiC devices and much larger power modules.

Why It Matters

Conventional data-center power architectures rely on bulky, low-frequency transformers that add conversion stages, increase losses and consume floor space. Solid-state transformers collapse those stages, delivering regulated DC straight from the medium-voltage grid — a shift that grows more valuable as next-generation AI facilities move to higher-voltage DC rack distribution. The bottleneck has been the power semiconductors: building an SST that interfaces a 13.8 kV or 34.5 kV feeder traditionally requires stacking many lower-voltage SiC devices in series. A 3.3 kV module that cuts that series count by roughly half simplifies the converter, reduces part count and eases the engineering of medium-voltage-to-rack power stages.

Critical Perspective

This is a component launch, not a deployed system — Microchip is selling building blocks, and the 6 kV isolation and 100–300 A ratings are specifications, not field results. Solid-state transformers for hyperscale data centers remain largely pre-commercial, and a 3.3 kV module still requires series connection to reach 13.8 kV or 34.5 kV, so the device eases but does not eliminate the multi-device stacking problem. The same modules also target megawatt charging for heavy-duty vehicles, rail auxiliary power and medium-voltage motor drives, which signals a broad addressable market but also that no single application has yet pulled the technology into volume. The medium-voltage-to-rack vision is real; whether SSTs displace iron-core transformers at scale is still unproven.

Sources

• GlobeNewswire: Microchip launches 3.3 kV HV-D3 mSiC power modules
• Power Electronics News: Microchip unveils 3.3 kV SiC modules for SSTs

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