conference report CS Europe
power electronics devices. Thyristors and MOSFETs reigned supreme from the 1970s to the 1990s, IGBTs have been the dominant technology for the past two decades, but SiC and GaN devices are an ever- increasing threat to their ascendancy (see Figure 3 for details of product releases).
The silicon-dominated power electronics market is currently valued at $17.7 billion, and is predicted to increase at a CAGR of almost 100 percent throughout this decade, to hit $35.7 billion in 2020. Today, more
than half of these devices are produced on 6-inch silicon, but by the end of the decade the 200 mm platform will be the most popular one for manufacturing.
Two-thirds of the power electronics market is associated with devices operating at up to 900 V, and Roussel believes that in this sector GaN is the most attractive alternative to silicon. At voltages beyond 1.2 kV, however, he believes that SiC can be more competitive than GaN.
Commercial interest in wide bandgap devices has recently stepped up a gear. Funding for the likes of Transphorm, CamGaN, EpiGaN and Azzurro, plus the acquisition of Velox by Power Integration, has led to a $100 million injection of funds into GaN development through merges, acquisitions, investments and fund raising.
What’s more, nearly all of the top twenty power semiconductor manufacturers are involved in developing either GaN or SiC – and the top two, Infineon and Toshiba, are pursuing both. All this effort will spur the GaN market from $13 million in 2012 to $1.9 billion in 2020, according to Roussel.
Table 3: It can take many years to develop a new GaN device and ramp its production to high
levels.Credit: Yole Développement
This analyst also considered the possible impact of overcapacity in the LED market on the wide bandgap electronic sector. He considered the situation where companies with MOCVD tools for GaN LEDs and a
Figure
3.SiC diodes appeared on the market before any form of transistor,with Infineon and Cree leading the charge. Credit: Yole Développement
18
www.compoundsemiconductor.net April / May 2012
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