Power electronics like Si MOSFETs, SiC MOSFETs, GaN HEMTs or SiC FETs are the main technological building blocks used in many market areas. For a long time, Si has been the semiconductor material of choice in power electronics applications. Recently, there has been a shift away from Si to SiC devices, mostly due to the significant improvements in the performance and reliability of SiC technology.

The performance advantages offered by SiC have been life-changing in many power-electronic markets; electric vehicles, white goods, infrastructure, solar energy/renewables, data centers, and more. With SiC’s larger bandgap energy (i.e., 3.3eV, as opposed to Si’s 1.1eV – see Figure 2) and its higher breakdown voltage, SiC can be exploited to create newer, higher-performance solutions.

The Advantages of Using SiC Versus Si

To begin, SiC MOSFETs, or SiC FETs, have several advantages over Si devices. For starters, SiC has a much higher breakdown voltage, meaning a much thinner device can be used to support higher voltage

Silicon carbide allows engineers to design for higher power levels with better efficiency, higher switching speeds, and superior thermal performance.

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