Emerging market silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors are expected to reach nearly $ 1 billion in 2020, driven by demand from hybrid and electric vehicles, power and photovoltaic (PV) inverters.
The application of SiC and GaN power semiconductors in the main driveline inverters of hybrid and electric vehicles will lead to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 35% after 2017 and reach $ 10 billion in 2027.
By 2020, GaN-on-silicon (Si) transistors are expected to reach prices comparable to silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), while also providing the same superior performance . Once this benchmark is reached, the GaN power market is expected to reach $ 600 million in 2024 and climb to more than $ 1.7 billion in 2027.
IHS Markit analysis
Expectations for continued strong growth in the SiC industry are high, with the main driver being growth in hybrid and electric vehicle sales. The market penetration is also growing, especially in China. Schottky diodes, MOSFETs, junction gate field effect transistors (JFETs) and other SiC discrete devices have appeared in mass-produced automotive DC-DC converters and automotive battery chargers. .
It is becoming increasingly apparent that the main driveline inverters-using SiC MOSFETs instead of Si Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs)-will begin to appear on the market within 3-5 years. Since very many devices are used in the main inverter, far more than in DC-DC converters and car chargers, this will rapidly increase the demand for the devices. Perhaps at some point, the inverter manufacturer ultimately chose to customize a full SiC power module instead of a SiC discrete device. Integration, control and packaging optimization are the main advantages of modular assembly.
Not only will the number of SiC devices per vehicle increase, but new global registration requirements for battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) will also increase tenfold between 2017 and 2027 , Because many governments around the world have targeted the reduction of air pollution, while reducing the dependence on vehicles burning fossil fuels. China, India, France, the United Kingdom and Norway have all announced plans to ban cars with internal combustion engines in the coming decades, replacing them with cleaner vehicles. The prospect of electrified vehicles will generally be very good for this reason, especially for wide band gap semiconductors.
SiC
Compared with the first-generation semiconductor material Si and the second-generation semiconductor material GaAs, SiC has better physical and chemical properties. These properties include high thermal conductivity, high hardness, chemical resistance, high temperature resistance, and transparency to light waves. The excellent thermal and anti-irradiation properties of SiC materials also make it one of the materials of choice for preparing UV photodetectors. In addition, SiC-based sensors can make up for the performance defects of Si-based sensors in harsh environments such as high temperature and high pressure, and thus have a wider application space. Wide bandgap semiconductor power devices represented by SiC are currently one of the fastest growing power semiconductor devices in the power electronics field.
SiC power electronic devices mainly include power diodes and transistors (transistors, switches). SiC power devices can double the power, temperature, frequency, radiation resistance, efficiency, and reliability of power electronic systems, bringing about significant reductions in volume, weight, and cost. The application field of SiC power devices can be divided by voltage:
Low-voltage applications (600 V to 1.2kV): high-end consumer areas (such as game consoles, plasma and LCD TVs, etc.), commercial applications (such as notebook computers, solid-state lighting, electronic ballasts, etc.) and other fields (such as medical, Telecommunications, defense, etc.)
Medium voltage applications (1.2kV to 1.7kV): electric vehicles / hybrid electric vehicles (EV / HEV), solar photovoltaic inverters, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), and industrial motor drives (AC drives).
High-voltage applications (2.5kV, 3.3kV, 4.5kV, and 6.5kV or more): wind power generation, locomotive traction, high-voltage / UHV power transmission and transformation, etc.
Perhaps the biggest inhibitor to SiC device growth is GaN devices. The first automotive AEC-Q101-compliant GaN transistor was released by Transphorm in 2017, and a GaN device fabricated on a GaN-on-Si epitaxial wafer has a relatively low cost and is more expensive than any product manufactured on a SiC wafer easily. For these reasons, GaN transistors may become the first choice for inverters in the late 2020s, outperforming the more expensive SiC MOSFETs.
In recent years, the most interesting story about GaN power devices has been the advent of GaN system integrated circuits (ICs), that is, packaging GaN transistors with silicon gate driver ICs or monolithic all-GaN ICs. Once their performance is optimized for mobile phones and laptop chargers and other high-capacity applications, it is likely to become widespread on a wider scale. In contrast, the development of commercial GaN power diodes has never really started because they have failed to provide more significant benefits relative to Si devices, and related developments have proven to be too expensive and unfeasible. SiC Schottky diodes are well used for this purpose and have a good pricing roadmap.
GaN
GaN power devices and other types of power semiconductors are used in the field of power electronics. Basically, power electronics utilize various solid-state electronic components to more efficiently control and convert electrical energy in everything from smartphone chargers to large power plants. Among these solid-state components, the chip handles switching and power conversion functions.
For these applications, GaN is an ideal choice. Based on gallium and III-V nitrides, GaN is a wide bandgap process, meaning it is faster than traditional silicon-based devices and can provide higher breakdown voltages.