SiC MOSFET Relays: A New Solution for Power Semiconductor ATE
Aratas developed its G3VH series of SiC MOSFET relay signal switches to give ATE designers a solid-state solution for 1,800V and 3,300V systems.
As power systems push toward 800 V EV architectures and 1,500 V photovoltaic inverters, manufacturers are ramping SiC and GaN device production faster than test infrastructure can keep pace. The bottleneck isn't manufacturing; it's the relays inside your automated test equipment (ATE).
Conventional silicon MOSFET relays cap out around 600 V, well below what SiC and GaN devices require. That leaves Reed switches as the default high-voltage option because their electromechanical contacts oxidize and wear with every cycle, introducing on-resistance drift that corrupts measurement accuracy and can silently misclassify good devices as defective. With mechanical lifespans of 500,000 to 1,000,000 operations, high-volume production lines can burn through that limit in months.
A Solid-State Alternative Built for Wide-Bandgap Voltages
Aratas's G3VH series of SiC MOSFET relay signal switches solves this with a contact-free, solid-state architecture rated for 1,800 V and 3,300 V systems — voltages silicon relays simply can't reach. Because the signal path closes through semiconductor material instead of physical metal contacts, the G3VH series delivers:
Stable on-resistance across virtually unlimited switching cycles, eliminating the drift that corrupts yield data
Sub-millisecond switching speeds, cutting dead time between DUT measurements and increasing test throughput
5,000 Vrms isolation, exceeding the relay's own 3,300 V load rating for safe, accurate high-voltage board design
Low off-state capacitance, reducing parasitic signal leakage into the measurement path
Test Devices for Today and Tomorrow
As SiC and GaN roadmaps push toward voltage tiers above 3,300 V for railway and industrial inverter applications, ATE built on solid-state relay technology is positioned to scale without sacrificing accuracy or speed.
Download the white paper to see how the G3VH series compares to Reed switches across load voltage, on-resistance stability, switching speed, and isolation — and what it means for your next-generation test infrastructure.