GaN Power Semiconductors – 2025 Predictions


GaN power semiconductors are on a tremendous growth trajectory. GaN is on its way to reaching more tipping points in its adoption in more industries. Consumer chargers and adapters have been the forerunner, more applications are expected to tip this year, with many others to follow in time. Still, there are some headwinds for GaN to reach this adoption level. Why is that and how can we overcome... » read more

Electrifying Everything: Power Moves Toward ICs


As electronic systems grow increasingly complex and energy-intensive, traditional power management methods — centered on centralized systems and external components — are proving inadequate. The next wave of innovation is to bring power control closer to the action — directly on the chip or into a heterogeneous package. This change is driven by a relentless pursuit of efficiency, scala... » read more

Improving GaN Device Architectures


As the universe of applications for power devices grows, designers are finding that no single semiconductor can cover the full range of voltage and current requirements. Instead, combination circuits use different materials for different parts of the overall operating range. GaN is especially well-established in low-power applications like chargers for personal electronics, while silicon and... » read more

Challenges In Powering Electrification With GaN And SiC


The wish list of device properties that designers of power management systems would like to have is lengthy, but no single material is yet sufficient for the full range of power control applications. For control transistors to handle power surges, breakdown voltages should be at least triple the expected operating voltage — 1.2 kilovolts or more for many electric vehicle applications, and ... » read more

Silicon Carbide And Gallium Nitride Bring New Challenges For Semiconductor Test


In the era of megatrends such as electric vehicles (EVs), new technologies are emerging to keep up with evolving demands. One example of this is the evolution of compound semiconductors that use silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) for high-performance power systems. Innovating test protocols to handle wide bandgap materials For many power-related applications, the semiconductor in... » read more

Research Bits: Oct. 29


Micro-LED DUV maskless lithography Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui GaN Semiconductor, and Wuhan University developed a vertically integrated micro-LED array for deep ultraviolet (DUV) maskless photolithography. The team fabricated a DUV display integrated chip with 564 pixels-per-inch density that uses a three-dimensional vertically integrated devic... » read more

Dualtronics: Photonic Devices on the Cation Face and Electronic Devices on the Anion Face of the Same Wafer


A new technical paper titled "Using both faces of polar semiconductor wafers for functional devices" was published by researchers at Cornell University and Polish Academy of Sciences. Find the technical paper here. Published September 2024. Cornell University's news release is here, stating "Cornell researchers, in collaboration with a team at the Polish Academy of Sciences, have develope... » read more

New Materials Are in High Demand


Materials suppliers are responding to the intense pressures to improve power, performance, scaling, and cost issues, which follows a long timeline from synthesis to development and high volume manufacturing in fabs. The advances in machine learning help present a wide field of candidates, which engineers then narrow to potential use. When building standard logic semiconductor chips, the prim... » read more

Research Bits: Aug. 27


Ammonia-free GaN Researchers from Nagoya University discovered a way to grow gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors without using ammonia. The process is both more environmentally friendly and allows for high-quality growth of crystals at a lower cost. Metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is the most common technique for GaN production, which uses ammonia (NH3) gas as the source of... » read more

Driving Cost Lower and Power Higher With GaN


Gallium nitride is starting to make broader inroads in the lower-end of the high-voltage, wide-bandgap power FET market, where silicon carbide has been the technology of choice. This shift is driven by lower costs and processes that are more compatible with bulk silicon. Efficiency, power density (size), and cost are the three major concerns in power electronics, and GaN can meet all three c... » read more

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