Wolfspeed SiC MOSFETs provide innovative power solutions for industrial battery chargers, enabling a 40 percent reduction in size and a 20 percent reduction in system cost.

DURHAM, N.C. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — February 3, 2016 — Wolfspeed, A Cree Company, announced today that Gruppo PBM, a leader in industrial battery chargers, is using Wolfspeed^™ SiC MOSFETs in its new HF9 battery charger family to enable higher efficiency and power density at a lower overall system cost.

Demand for safe, efficient and fast-charging industrial batteries has increased exponentially along with the proliferation of power electronics. The HF9 product family is designed to provide the highest possible efficiency while achieving easy scalability for power ranging from six to 16 kilowatts. These benefits are made possible in part by Wolfspeed 1200V SiC MOSFET technology.

“We selected Wolfspeed^™ SiC Planar MOSFETs for our new HF9 battery charger family because they enabled us to improve our battery chargers while achieving operational savings, increased productivity and increased safety. This was not possible with the best IGBTs in the market,” said both Marco Mazzanti and Giancarlo Ceo, who respectively serve as CTO and R&D Engineer at Gruppo PBM.

Based in Italy, Gruppo PBM specializes in rugged high-frequency battery chargers, dischargers and testers. By using Wolfspeed SiC MOSFETs in its latest HF9 family, Gruppo PBM not only achieves improved efficiency, but also a reduction in component count, improving the overall reliability in the system by lowering the operating temperatures and—most importantly—reducing overall system cost.

“Wolfspeed’s SiC MOSFETs, especially our new C3M 900V family, are enjoying rapid adoption in the growing battery charger market segment,” explained Edgar Ayerbe, Wolfspeed’s power MOSFET marketing manager. “Our products increase power density and dramatically lower switching losses, making it possible to introduce smaller, cooler and lower cost chargers for the automotive and industrial markets.”

Wolfspeed SiC MOSFETs are commercially available in 900V, 1200V and 1700V versions in TO-247 and SMD package options. The newly released surface-mount package, specifically designed for high-voltage MOSFETs, has a small footprint with a wide creepage distance of seven millimeters between its drain and source. The new package also includes a separate driver-source connection, which reduces gate ringing and provides clean gate signals.

About Wolfspeed

Wolfspeed, A Cree Company, is leading the innovation and commercialization of silicon carbide and gallium nitride, liberating designers to invent power and wireless systems for a responsible, energy-efficient future.

Wolfspeed’s wide bandgap semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications deliver new levels of performance through increased efficiency, higher switching frequency and reduced system size and weight for the transportation, industrial, energy and communications markets.

Please refer to www.wolfspeed.com for additional product and company information.

About Cree

Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor products for power and radio frequency (RF) applications.

Cree’s product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree^® products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, power suppliers and solar inverters.

Please refer to www.cree.com for additional product and company information.

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 products; the risk that our customer’s plans for additional product purchases may change; 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 28, 2015, and subsequent filings.

Cree^® is a registered trademark and Wolfspeed^™ is a trademark of Cree, Inc.

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Wolfspeed, A Cree Company
Joanne Latham
VP, Corporate Communications
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