Adoption of SiC & GaN to impact the power electronics industry
Emergence of new wide bandgap (WBG) technologies such as SiC and GaN materials will definitely reshape part of the established power electronics industry, according to Yole Développement (Yole). SiC and GaN benefits are now well known. Indeed such materials offer: higher frequency switching "“ higher power density "“ higher junction temperature "“ higher voltage capabilities.
Yole will present its vision of the Power Electronics Industry, at the Power Electronics Conference "The ultimate path to CO2 reduction," taking place from October 8th to 9th, in parallel of SEMICON Europa 2014. During the conference, Yole will detail the status of the Power Electronics industry, its technology trends and related players, taking into account the introduction of new materials such as SiC and GaN.
From the silicon carbide side, its adoption for train applications is a main trend. It confirms that SiC could play an important role in the high and very high voltage ranges (up to 1.7kV) in a near future.
"At Yole, we stay convinced that these voltage and related power ranges, are exactly the place-to-be for SiC technology," says Pierric Gueguen, Senior Market Analyst, Power Electronics at Yole Développement (Source: SiC Modules, Devices and Substrates for Power Electronics report, October 2014).
Last June, Yole released its Power GaN Market report confirming as well the introduction of GaN in the Power Electronics market. Yole's analysts identify numerous applications, especially for low voltage range such as power supply/PFC. According to this technology & market analysis, the power supply/PFC segment will dominate the business from 2015 to 2018 with 50 percent of the device sales.
However, with such new wide bandgap (WBG) technologies, industrials face new technical challenges. Indeed, current packaging solutions do not answer to GaN and SiC specifications. Under this context, some companies develop a new enhanced package strategy to improve performances. According to Yole, based on these new packaging solutions, the power modules market should reach US$ 200 million in 2016.
