What’s Next For Power Electronics? Beyond Silicon

By Emily Yan - 29 Feb, 2024 - Comments: 0

For more than half a century, silicon has been the bedrock of power electronics. Yet as silicon meets its physical limitations in higher-power, higher-temperature applications, the industry’s relentless pursuit of more efficient power systems has ushered in the wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors era. The global WBG semiconductors market reached $1.6 billion in 2022, with an estimated CAGR of ... » read more

How To Use S-Parameters For Power Module Verification

By Wilfried Wessel - 06 Jul, 2023 - Comments: 0

By Wilfried Wessel (Siemens EDA), Simon Liebetegger (University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt), and Florian Bauer (Siemens EDA) Power modules are high-power switching circuits that convert DC- in AC-currents in electric vehicles, renewable energy, and many more applications. New materials [14] and device technologies [14], such as wide bandgap semiconductors, including silicon carbide (SiC) ... » read more

ORNL: Advantages of Using Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Materials For Extreme Temp & Radiation

By Technical Paper Link - 13 Jun, 2022 - Comments: 0

Research paper from ORNL (Oak Ridge National Lab) titled "Wide Bandgap Semiconductors for Extreme Temperature and Radiation Environments." Abstract "With their greater voltage breakdowns, higher current limitations, and faster switching speeds, wide bandgap semiconductors are increasing in market application over the traditionally dominant silicon devices. Silicon carbide semiconductors hav... » read more

Parasitic Characterization Comes To Power Design Simulation

By Don Dingee - 09 Mar, 2022 - Comments: 0

Two power design challenges are taking teams into unfamiliar territory. Wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors target greater efficiency and density. Stricter EMI compliance regulations now come standard in mission-critical industries. Power design practices are still catching up. Simulation often takes a back seat to respinning hardware prototypes until success. What’s missing that could make sim... » read more

Revving Up SiC And GaN

By Ann Mutschler - 13 Dec, 2021 - Comments: 0

Silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) are becoming more popular for power electronics, particularly in automotive applications, driving down costs as volumes scale up and increasing the demand for better tools to design, verify, and test these wide-bandgap devices. Both SiC and GaN are proving essential in areas such as battery management in electric vehicles. They can handle much ... » read more

Controlling The Reliability Of Silicon Carbide-Based Devices

By Peter Friedrichs - 11 Mar, 2021 - Comments: 0

The development of wide bandgap silicon carbide (SiC) compound semiconductors has proved to be extremely beneficial for power conversion applications. Capable of switching at significantly higher frequencies, and with higher breakdown voltage characteristics, SiC power transistors are quickly becoming an attractive silicon alternative for high power density and/or high-efficiency power conver... » read more

Knowledge Centers
Entities, people and technologies explored

Shift Left Is The Tip Of The Iceberg

A transformative change is underway for semiconductor design and EDA. New languages, models, and abstractions will need to be created.

by Brian Bailey

Partitioning In The Chiplet Era

Understanding how chiplets interact under different workloads is critical to ensuring signal integrity and optimal performance in heterogeneous designs.

by Ann Mutschler

NAND Flash Targets 1,000 Layers

New techniques go beyond improved deposition and etching, but challenges stack up, too.

by Bryon Moyer

3.5D: The Great Compromise

Pros and cons of a middle-ground chiplet assembly that combines 2.5D and 3D-IC.

by Ed Sperling

AI’s Role In Chip Design Widens, Drawing In New Startups

Focus is on letting engineers do much more with the same or fewer resources — and less drudgery.

by Karen Heyman

What Comes After HBM For Chiplets

The standard for high-bandwidth memory limits design freedom at many levels, but that is required for interoperability. What freedoms can be taken from other functions to make chiplets possible?

by Brian Bailey

Memory Fundamentals For Engineers

eBook: Nearly everything you need to know about memory, including detailed explanations of the different types of memory; how and where these are used today; what's changing, which memories are successful and which ones might be in the future; and the limitations of each memory type.

by The SE Staff

Why Small Fab And Assembly Houses Are Thriving

Megafabs churning out the most advanced processors are not the only game in town.