news digest ♦ LEDs
years. If executed as announced, Reportlinker. com expects significant oversupply starting from 2012 that could continue through 2016 and beyond. This situation could put pressure on prices. Further MO synthesis technology improvements could provide opportunity for cost reductions. However, the usually volatile prices of raw indium and gallium also have a significant impact on cost.
Silicon switching to SiC for high power electronics
Due to its superior thermal and electrical properties, the power electronics industry is moving towards silicon carbide based devices. However, material defects in SiC, higher manufacturing costs and packaging issues could hamper growth. Gallium nitride is another contender in this market, but this material also suffers from similar problems
It has become apparent that the wide band gap material SiC has emerged as a key semiconductor; it has the potential to displace silicon based insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), MOSFETs, diodes and rectifiers .
The main applications of SiC would be in high power electronics area for applications in photovoltaic panels, hybrid/electric cars, high-power industrial drives, motor drives, smart grids and power utilities.
Frost & Sullivan’s latest report, “Silicon Carbide Electronics -Technology Market Penetration and Roadmapping”, says that SiC-based power electronics are well positioned to meet some of the key performance criteria. These include decreased overall system costs and enhanced system efficiency, for emerging applications such as hybrid vehicles and inverters for solar energy.
“Silicon carbide electronics exhibit superior thermal resistance, low conductivity losses and higher material strength than silicon,” says Technical Insights Industry Analyst Avinash Bhaskar. “Thus, silicon carbide-based power electronics such as diodes and transistors can potentially reduce the size and also switch losses in power systems by 50 percent.”
162
www.compoundsemiconductor.net July 2012
Encouraged by their superior material properties, major automotive manufacturers involved in developing hybrid and electric vehicles are currently testing SiC-based MOSFETs and other transistors as a viable alternative to silicon-based transistors, particularly for under the hood applications where the operating conditions are challenging.
“Defence agencies are also driving the research on using silicon carbide for developing power electronic devices,” notes Technical Insights Industry Manager Kasthuri Jagadeesan. “A commercial volume market in the renewable sector, industrial sector and automotive sector could present a big market opportunity for silicon carbide power electronics.”
The future of SiC will lie in developing reliable transistors such as MOSFETs and bipolar junction transistors. While SiC-based diodes have made their way into a number of applications, end-users are truly interested in a reliable SiC-based MOSFET that can challenge the dominance of silicon-based IGBTs.
Hybrid electric cars will greatly benefit from having SiC or MOSFETS under the hood, as SiC has a better thermal resistance than silicon-based IGBTs. This will reduce the overall system cost in electric cars, as adopting SiC devices will lead to eliminating the use of heat sinks and other cooling devices.
“However, silicon carbide material defects, higher cost of manufacturing wafers and packaging issues could hamper the growth of silicon carbide power electronics,” cautions Bhaskar. “The research efforts in developing reliable silicon carbide-based transistors in the higher power realm have been sluggish, slowing down the time to market.”
Strong collaborations and alliances along with increased investments will accelerate developments in the SiC power electronics technology space. Several companies have started sampling SiC MOSFETs and DMOSFETs, which will aid in rapid deployment of silicon carbide power electronics in the commercial market.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186