IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - June 2021 - 14

Happenings
by Z. John Shen
SiC Research Beyond Power
MOSFET: What's Next?
fter three decades of relentless
R&D efforts from both
academia and industry, silicon
carbide (SiC) power device
technology, driven by the various
electric vehicles (xEV) and other
emerging markets, are finally going
mainstream [1], [2]. The SiC power
device market may soon cross the
US$1 billion(B) threshold in the
near future while the industry is
working diligently to improve
device reliability and reduce cost
[3]. A question naturally arises for
the researchers in the field: What's
next? This article intends to explore
one potential future prospect of SiC
research: SiC power integrated circuits
(ICs).
A
rest of the discrete power semiconductor
market. It is interesting to see
that power ICs makes more than 50%
of the power semiconductor market.
We cannot help thinking: Can SiC proliferate
into other power semiconductor
market segments beyond displacing
Si IGBTs? This article will examine
this question from the perspectives of
potential market needs and technical
feasibility.
Historically, the Si industry also
started with discrete transistors in
the early years but has enjoyed an
exponential growth since the invention
of ICs in 1958. Today, billions of
transistors are integrated into a single
IC chip, fueling the revolution of
SiC Power ICs: The Next
Technology Breakthrough?
Currently, the focus of the SiC industry
is to displace silicon (Si) IGBTs
with SiC power MOSFETs (and
Schottky Barrier Diodes) in various
types of electric vehicles (xEVs), photovoltaic
inverters, high-speed trains,
and other power electronic applications.
However, the Si IGBT market,
as important as it is, only accounts for
US$4-5B or 10-12% of the world
power semiconductor market (roughly
a total of US$35-40B from different
sources [4], [5]). Si power MOSFETs,
diodes, thyristors, and BJTs make the
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPEL.2021.3075788
Date of current version: 16 June 2021
personal computer, Internet, wireless
communication, and artificial intelligence.
The advancement of CMOS
technology, often defined by the
famous Moore's Law, is fundamentally
driven by mankind's ever-increasing
demand for computing power
(e.g., in terms of million instructions
per second or MIPS at a certain cost).
ICs have unleashed unimaginable
power of information processing in
the past 60 years. Will we see a similar
trend in the SiC world? If so, what
can be the fundamental driving force?
Power ICs, integrating one or more
power transistors with low-voltage
digital and analog electronics into a
single chip, offer advanced control,
Can SiC Proliferate Into Other Power Semiconductor
Markets Beyond Displacing Si IGBTs?
Power Semiconductor
TAM: Estimated US$35-40B
Power ICs US$17-22B
Power MOSFETs,
Thyristors, BJTs,
Diodes
SiC MOSFET/SBD
US$15-20B
IGBTs
US$4-5B
FIG 1 SiC power MOSFETs and the world power semiconductor market.
14 IEEE POWER ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE z June 2021
IEEE Power Electronics Magazine - June 2021

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