The Ins And Outs Of Silicon Carbide


John Palmour, CTO at Cree, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about silicon carbide, how it compares to silicon, what's different from a design and packaging standpoint, and where it's being used. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: SiC is well-understood in power electronics and RF, but is the main advantage the ability to run devices hotter than silicon, or is ... » read more

How Silicon Carbide Is Improving Energy Efficiency & Lowering Costs In Industrial Applications


Industrial applications such as server power supplies, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), and motor drives consume a significant portion of the world’s power. Thus, any increase in the efficiency of any end user power system will substantially reduce a company’s operating costs. Combined with greater power density and better thermal performance, the demand for high-efficiency power suppl... » read more

Meeting Commercial Demands With XM3 Module Platform


While silicon carbide (SiC) is still considered a relatively new material in the semiconductor market, it is now used in power circuitry that supports our everyday lifestyle — from the data centers that deliver our emails, to solar power grids that provide energy to offices and homes, to electric cars and trains we use to commute, and in factory equipment and robots that manufacture the goods... » read more

Demand Picks Up For 200mm


Demand is growing for both 200mm fab capacity and equipment, setting the stage for possible shortages in coming months. But there are also some uncertainties, if not warning signs, in the 200mm market and the entire IC industry. Trade disputes, as well as the current coronavirus outbreak in China, likely will impact the chip and equipment markets. The size of the impact and the duration rema... » read more

SiC Foundry Business Emerges


Several third-party foundry vendors are entering or expanding their efforts in the silicon carbide (SiC) business amid booming demand for the technology. However, making a significant dent in the market will not be so easy for SiC foundry vendors and their customers. They are facing stiff competition from traditional SiC device vendors such as Cree, Infineon, Rohm and STMicroelectronics. ... » read more

Accelerating Silicon Carbide Power Electronics Devices Into High Volume Manufacturing With Mechanical Dicing System


Silicon carbide (SiC) is a wideband gap semiconductor material that has huge potential to enrich our lives by enabling better technology with improved connectivity and efficiency. It offers many advantages over common silicon (Si) for power applications as it can be doped much higher than silicon to achieve optimal blocking voltage. In addition, SiC high thermal conductivity characteristic enab... » read more

RF GaN Gains Steam


Wide-bandgap semiconductors are hot topics these days. One wide-bandgap semi type--silicon carbide (SiC)--is the talk of the town and is gaining steam in electric vehicles and other systems. But let’s not forget about gallium nitride (GaN). GaN, a binary III-V material, has 10 times the breakdown field strength with double the electron mobility than silicon. GaN is used for LEDs, power ... » read more

Power Semi Wars Begin


Several vendors are rolling out the next wave of power semiconductors based on gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC), setting the stage for a showdown against traditional silicon-based devices in the market. Power semiconductors are specialized transistors that incorporate different and competitive technologies like GaN, SiC and silicon. Power semis operate as a switch in high-volt... » read more

New SiC Power Modules Deliver Greater Power Densities In Smaller Packages Than Si IGBTs


With the shift toward electrical power for a wide range of applications, including power generation, energy storage, and transportation, comes the need to build higher performance electrical conversion and control systems to fuel the future of electric-powered systems. To do so, there is a greater demand for more compact, higher power density, and high temperature operating power modules. Un... » read more

Design Comparison of SiC MOSFETs for Linear-Mode Operation


Source: US Army Research Lab Authors: Heather O'Brien, Damian Urciuoli, Aderinto Ogunniyi, Brett Hull August 2019 "Abstract: Silicon carbide metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) were designed and fabricated for linear-mode applications. The MOSFETs have a chip area of 3.3 ? 3.3 mm and a voltage-blocking rating up to 1200 V. The device design parameters, such as chan... » read more

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