The Next Wave of GaN and SiC

Thanks to their savings in size, weight, and cost, as well as higher efficiency, GaN and SiC power devices are making big pushes beyond fast chargers and renewable energy into data centers, motor drivers, electric vehicles (EVs), and other e-mobility applications.? The WBG panel discussion focused on “the next wave of GaN and SiC,” taking its cue from the day’s topic presentations, including new product developments, technology challenges, and wafer manufacturing.?The panel was comprised of six industry experts. Panelists in the GaN market included Alex Lidow, CEO and co-founder of?EPC, who discussed GaN integration technology; Stephen Olivier, vice president of corporate marketing and investor relations at?Navitas Semiconductor, who examined GaN’s role in electrification; and Caroline O’Brien, CEO of?Kubos Semiconductor, who highlighted the company’s cubic-GaN technology for LEDs.?

SiC panelists included Pete Losee, director of technology development at?UnitedSiC?(recently acquired by Qorvo), who discussed his company’s expanding portfolio with 750-V Gen 4 product series; Paul Kierstead, global director of power product marketing at?Wolfspeed, who covered SiC’s role in renewable energy power conversion and storage; and Rob Rhoades, president and CTO of?X-TrinSiC, who provided deep insight into SiC wafer manufacturing.?

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Design Considerations with GaN & SiC

By Sebastian Fahlbusch, Application Marketing Manager, Nexperia and Sebastian Kl?tzer, Principal Application Engineer, Nexperia

Modern Silicon Carbide and Gallium Nitride power semiconductors enable significantly power density and efficiency improvements in modern power electronic applications such as industrial, automotive, aerospace and consumer. Both technologies are expected to be the game-changer for high voltage applications in the field of e-mobility and renewables. Their superior material properties compared to Silicon enable significantly higher transition speeds and switching frequencies at higher conversion efficiency. However, intrinsic advantages of GaN & SiC don’t come without further efforts when evaluating and designing the circuit. This tutorial will discuss how to properly evaluate and utilize state-of-the-art high voltage GaN & SiC devices. The session will cover PCB layout, design and measurement aspects for successful exploitation of the full potential of these technologies. The discussed topics will be illustrated by practical examples and measurements.

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SiC’s Cost Competitiveness

In several energy industries, the silicon carbide (SiC) industry is expanding to provide highly efficient and Silicon carbide (SiC) is expanding in several energy industries to deliver extremely efficient and compact solutions. Many companies are evaluating and investing in wafer technology because of the importance of silicon carbide in fields such as e-mobility and new energy. In this podcast with Peter Gammon, Professor of SiC Power Devices at Warwick University and Founder of PGC Consultancy, we’ll look at the cost and technology of SiC. Peter Gammon is the author of over 100 publications and patents that have contributed to the increased efficiency of SiC transistors and diodes used in today’s electric vehicles.

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Fundamentals of SiC and GaN

By Alex Lidow and Victor Veliadis

Driven by the introduction of wide bandgap (WBG) materials in the beginning of the new millennium, power electronics is undergoing a renaissance. The most popular of the WBG semiconductor materials, SiC and GaN, are now commonly believed to be the successors to the venerable silicon MOSFET and its IGBT cousin. Whereas transitions in power electronic technologies often take decades, these two emerging WBG materials have already distinguished themselves as higher performance, cost-effective, reliable alternatives to their silicon counterparts

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