What is the “alien” material silicon carbide worth today?
Since the beginning of time, humans have searched relentlessly for new materials. Science has often defied nature. Like an omnipotent being, we have created mind-blowing new materials that have transformed industry and society, literally changing the course of history.
One such material is silicon carbide (SiC). Exceedingly rare in the natural environment, it has only been found in trace amounts in meteorites from 4.6 billion years ago. Until recently, a veil of mystery surrounded this "alien” material, which had arrived on Earth after a journey of 4.6 billion years. Today, that veil has been lifted and this otherworldly material has entered people's daily lives.
When silicon-based semiconductors hit a bottleneck, WBG takes over
All components have a "ceiling" of power conversion per unit volume, and first- and second-generation semiconductor materials seem to have hit those ceilings in terms of output power. Over the past 50 years, the emergence of silicon (Si) power components has paved the way for the development of modern industrial technology and a variety of consumer electronics. Nevertheless, the potential for improving the performance of silicon-based devices is limited. Many manufacturers have been forced to increase the size of their devices to improve performance.
Silicon wafer
Silicon semiconductors with a wide-bandgap of only 1.12eV are just not meeting the requirements of modern high-power application scenarios. Wide-bandgap semiconductors (WBGs), on the other hand, have higher critical electric fields that can enable thinner, higher doped voltage blocking layers that can reduce on-resistance by several orders of magnitude in the majority of carrier architectures. High breakdown electric fields and low conduction loss mean that WBGs can achieve the same blocking voltage and on-resistance, but in a smaller form factor. In other words, they can generate smaller, faster, more efficient devices that deliver superior performance in harsh environments with high pressure or high temperatures. The myriad advantages of WBG have made it a key “catalyst” for various emerging applications.
The field of power electronics has benefited greatly from the innovation of semiconductor process technology. WBG semiconductors, with silicon carbide for example, have begun to enter into in various growth fields including automotive electronics. Obviously, efficiency is critical for electric vehicles. As a key component of the powertrain system, electric vehicle inverters have inherently high requirements for power density. In-vehicle power semiconductor devices not only form the body of electric vehicles, but also play an important role in reducing costs and weight. High-power density integration technology, once based on low-loss, high-power Si IGBT modules, plays an irreplaceable role in automotive drive systems.
The new darling of automotive companies – SiC
Along with the increasing demand for lighter systems and shorter charging times, there is an increasing demand for higher voltage and output power. SiC power devices can reduce the on-resistance to about two orders of magnitude compared with traditional Si IGBT power modules. They can also effectively realize reduction in size and weight of the inverter while increasing the output power, giving designers more creative freedom. Furthermore, SiC power devices can widely reduce power loss when applied to power conversion systems. Hence they are recognized as a simple, elegant, and practical power device.
The application of SiC power devices in new energy vehicles can improve battery life (range) and shorten charging time. Given the original energy-saving advantages of low-speed urban scenarios, NEVs are moving closer to consumers' “ideal car” expectations. Obviously, SiC is not perfect. Its relatively high cost and low yield still need to be addressed. For these reasons, SiC semiconductors are currently only being installed in high-end, high-performance NEVs. In reality, there is still a long way to go before they become viable for the mass market.
NEVs
With the growing demand for carbon neutrality in today's post-Moore’s Law era, 3rd-generation semiconductors have become a "highly contested area" among semiconductor giants. Now that SiC semiconductors have come under the spotlight, they are the veritable rising stars of automotive semiconductors.
It looks like the “alien” material SiC has a very bright future on planet Earth.
