SiC is mainly used to realize a small amount of lightening of a drive system such as an electric vehicle inverter. SiC devices have advantages over Si devices in that they reduce energy loss, are easier to achieve miniaturization, and are more resistant to high temperatures. SiC is suitable for high voltage applications, and GaN is more suitable for low voltage and high frequency applications.

SiC is a representative of third-generation semiconductor materials. In terms of silicon, the current SiMOSFET applications are mostly below 1000V, which is between 600 and 900V. If it exceeds 1000V, the chip size will be large, and the switching loss and parasitic capacitance will also increase. SiC devices have advantages over Si devices in that they reduce energy loss, are easier to achieve miniaturization, and are more resistant to high temperatures. The loss of SiC power devices is about 50% of that of Si devices. SiC is mainly used to realize a small amount of lightening of a drive system such as an electric vehicle inverter.



Figure 1: Switching losses of SiC. (Source: Public Information)

Infineon and Career account for 70% of the global SiC market. ROHM is equipped with SiC power devices on Honda's Clarity. Clarity is the world's first fuel pump powered by FullSiC. Due to its high temperature operation and low loss, it can reduce the heat sink for cooling and expand the interior space.



In 2017, the global SiC power semiconductor market totaled 399 million US dollars. It is estimated that by 2023, the total market will reach 1.644 billion US dollars, with a compound annual growth rate of 26.6%. From the application point of view, the growth rate of hybrid and pure electric vehicles is the highest, reaching 81.4%. In terms of products, SiCJFETs have the highest growth rate of 38.9%. Followed by the full SiC power module, the growth rate reached 31.7%.



The policy support has been greatly enhanced, pushing the third-generation semiconductor industry to overtake the curve. The state and local governments continue to introduce policies and industry support funds to support the development of third-generation semiconductors. In July 2018, China's first "third-generation semiconductor power electronics technology roadmap" was officially released, and proposed the development path and industrial construction of China's third-generation semiconductor power electronics technology. Fujian Province has invested 50 billion yuan to set up a special Anxin fund to build a third-generation semiconductor industry cluster.



The number of GaN application scenarios has increased, ushered in development opportunities. Due to the large band gap of GaN, GaN can be used to obtain semiconductor devices with larger bandwidth, larger amplifier gain, and smaller size. GaN devices can be divided into RF devices and power electronics. GaN's RF devices include PA, MIMO and other base-to-base satellite and radar markets. Power electronic products include SBD, FET and other markets for wireless charging, power switching and other markets.



Figure 2: Application areas and voltage distribution of GaN. (Source: Public Information)

It is estimated that by 2026, the global GaN power device market will reach 440 million US dollars, with a compound annual growth rate of 29.4%. In recent years, more and more companies have joined the GaN industry chain. Such as start-up companies EPC, GaNSystem, Transphorm and so on. Most of them choose TSMC or X-FAB as their foundry partners. Industry giants such as Infineon, ON Semiconductor and STMicroelectronics use the IDM model.





Figure 3: Global GaN market size. (Source: Public Information)



SiC is suitable for high voltage applications, and GaN is more suitable for low voltage and high frequency applications. A larger band gap allows the on-resistance of the device to decrease. The higher saturation migration speed enables both SiC and GaN to obtain faster, smaller power semiconductor devices. But an important difference between the two is thermal conductivity, which makes SiC dominant in high-power applications. GaN has a higher switching speed because of its higher electron mobility, and GaN has advantages in the high frequency field. SiC is suitable for high voltage applications above 1200V, while GaN is more suitable for high frequency applications of 40-1200V.



Currently commercial SiCMOSFETs have a maximum operating voltage of 1700V, an operating temperature of 100-160 ° C, and a current of 65 A or less. The main products of SiCMOSFET are 650V, 900V, 1200V and 1700V. Among the new SiC products introduced by major international manufacturers in 2018, Cree's new E-series SiC MOSFETs are the only SiCMOSFETs in the industry that have passed the automotive AEC-Q101 certification and meet the PPAP requirements.



At present, the commercial GaNHEMT has a maximum operating voltage of 650V, an operating temperature of 25 ° C, and a current of 120 A or less. The main products of GaNHEMT are now 100V, 600V and 650V. Among the new GaN products introduced by major international manufacturers in 2018, GaN Systems' GaNE-HEMT series products achieved the highest current level in the industry, while increasing the system's power density from 20kW to 500kW. The GaNHEMT produced by EPC is the first GaN product to receive automotive AEC-Q101 certification. Its volume is much smaller than that of a conventional SiMOSFET, and its switching speed is 10-100 times that of SiMOSFET.



Commercial GaN power amplifiers currently operate at a maximum operating frequency of 31 GHz. In 2018, MACOM, Cree and other companies have successively launched GaN MMIC PA modular power products for base station, radar and other application markets.



SiC is mainly used in photovoltaic inverter (PV), energy storage / battery charging, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), switching power supply (SMPS), industrial drives and medical markets. SiC can be used to achieve a small amount of lightening of a drive system such as an electric vehicle inverter.



Figure 4: Forecast of mainstream applications of GaN power devices in 2023. (Source: Public Information)

When GaN is applied to a charger, it can effectively reduce the size of the product. Currently, GaN chargers on the market support USB fast charging, with 27W, 30W and 45W powers. Leading smartphone maker Apple is also considering GaN technology as its wireless charging solution, which could lead to killer applications in the GaN power device market.



The 5G main deployment frequency bands are sub-6-GHz for wide area coverage and 20 GHz or higher bands for high density areas such as airports. To meet the 5G requirements for higher data transfer rates and low latency, GaN technology is needed to achieve higher target frequencies. High output power, linearity, and power requirements also drive the conversion of PAs deployed by base stations from LDMOS to GaN. In addition, the key technology in 5G



In Massive MIMO, a large number of array antennas are used on the base transceiver station. This structure requires a corresponding RF transceiver unit, so the number of RF devices used will increase significantly. The use of GaN's small size and high power density enables highly integrated product solutions such as modular RF front-end devices.



The application of GaN technology in automobiles has just begun to develop. EPC's GaNHEMT is the first GaN product to receive automotive AEC-Q101 certification. GaN technology can increase efficiency, reduce size and reduce system cost. These good properties make GaN automotive applications a hit.



There may be a shortage of supply in the SiC market. High cost is an important factor limiting the expansion of SiC capacity by international manufacturers.



Figure 5: Market demand and forecast for automotive power semiconductor Sic from 2018 to 2020. (Source: Public Information)



NXP’s revenues ranked first in the global power device market in 2017. Operating income was 6.548 billion yuan, net profit was 1.447 billion yuan, and net profit margin was 0.24. Infineon ranked second, with operating income of 5.526 billion yuan, net profit of 619 million yuan, and a net profit margin of 0.11.



Figure 6: 2017 global power device manufacturer operating income. (Source: Public Information)



Figure 7: 2017 global power device manufacturers net profit. (Source: Public Information)



Microcontrollers and SoCs are the main products of Renesas Electronics. Renesas Electronics is a leader in the global microcontroller market. Automotive electronics has become one of the important areas of competition for power device manufacturers.



Content statement: Content from Cheng Wenzhi