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Power Electronics ♦ news digest


developing and refining GaN-on-silicon processes and devices.


By 2016, the program hopes to have GaN-on-silicon devices operating at 5kV and 15A performance levels, with a goal of 20kV and 50A device performance by 2026. Market Estimates It appears clear that increasing demands for energy and an emphasis on alternative energy sources will lead to a very large market opportunity for power electronics components. The advantages of wide bandgap technologies appear very compelling, but there are challenges that must be addressed before these technologies will displace incumbent silicon technologies with any sort of production scale.


The promising development for GaN usage in this market segment is that industry and government agencies are recognizing the importance of this technology and devoting significant resources to technology and process development. Considering all these factors, we estimate revenues for GaN devices used in power electronics applications will grow strongly, reaching slightly more than $73 million in 2017. While this revenue level represents only a very small portion of the total high power electronics market, the CAAGR (Compounded Average Annual Growth Rate) for GaN technology will be greater than 108%, indicating the revenue will roughly double every year, on average. GaN technology usage is in its infancy for high power electronics applications and we anticipate continued strong growth throughout the decade. Figure 6 shows this estimate. Figure 6: GaN Device Revenue in High Power Electronics Applications


have challenges to overcome and while SiC devices have made early advances, we believe GaN-on-silicon products will grow quickly to reach slightly more than $73 million in revenue in 2017. Author : Eric Higham - Director - GaAs Strategic Technologies Practice Strategy Analytics . References 1Jennifer Weeks and The Daily Climate, “U.S. Electrical Grid Undergoes Massive Transition to Connect to Renewables,” Scientific American, April 28, 2010, http://www.scientifi camerican. com/article.cfm?id=what-is-the-smart-grid&print=true.


Rohm’s 1200V SiC MOSFETs raise the bar


The firm’s new silicon carbide MOSFETs provide higher efficiency, power density and lower system BOM for power conversion systems


Rohm Semiconductor has released two new 80-milliohm 1200V SiC MOSFETs, designated SCT2080KE and SCH2080KE, that are designed to deliver cost-effective, breakthrough performance.


Rohm says the SCH2080KE is the industry’s first SiC MOSFET co-packaged with a discrete anti-parallel SiC Schottky Barrier Diode (SBD. It features a forward voltage three times smaller than that of the body diode.


The combination of excellent switching performance, low on resistance, and high breakdown voltage make these devices ideal replacements for silicon power MOSFETs and IGBTs in solar inverter, DC-DC converter, UPS and motor drive applications.


Rohm SiC MOSFETs offer as much as 90 percent lower switching loss compared to silicon devices thanks to the absence of tail current and the diode’s fast recovery performance. This allows designers to increase switching frequency to reduce size, cost, and weight of passives.


Conclusions Increasing energy consumption, the shift to a “digital economy” and the evolution to more efficient, more distributed sources of energy generation will all increase the available market for power electronics devices. The incumbent technology is silicon IGBTs and MOSFETS, but there are concerns that the limitations of these devices and technologies will hamper the growth and refinement of the electric grid. Wide bandgap materials, most notably SiC and GaN offer promising performance advantages and these technologies are generating a lot of interest. Both these technologies


What’s more, these benefits enable the design of October 2013 www.compoundsemiconductor.net 119


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