Page 36 - EE Times Europe March 2022

36 EE|Times EUROPE

Wide-Bandgap Semiconductors: The Next Wave of GaN and SiC

With the full portfolio, designers don’t have itation when you get to the larger wafer sizes, and lower cost that will benefit the overall
to make large compromises in optimizing which means you won’t be able to get as many industry, he added. ■
their system for efficiency, cost, or thermal wafers per batch, he said.
management, Losee said. There is room for a lot of innovation in Gina Roos is editor-in-chief of Electronic
X-trinsic’s Rhoades took a step upstream to manufacturing methods to drive higher yield Products.
discuss SiC wafering and the process sequence
(and challenges) in the task of turning a single
crystal puck of SiC into device-ready wafers.
SiC is unique in that it is an extremely
hard crystal and is also chemically inert, Conference Proceedings Ebook
which makes it difficult to take through the
sequence steps. Power electronics is playing an increasingly important
“You have to redevelop these processes role in automotive, industrial, and consumer markets.
with the properties of silicon carbide in mind, It is an enabling technology for a wide range of
and each step will take longer and it will likely new functions that enhance vehicle and smart-grid
be more expensive,” said Rhoades. performance, safety, and functionality. Power devices
As an example, “a lot of folks are now using will improve system performance in energy-saving
slurries that are formulated around potassium applications as well as in all high-voltage industrial
and permanganate,” he said. “That is one of applications. At the recent PowerUP Expo virtual
the innovations that has enabled SiC to now conference and exhibition, industry luminaries and
be available in reasonable quantities, and of
course, everyone wants to reduce cost.” technology experts helped us envision the future of
power electronics.
INFLECTION POINT The conference proceedings ebook condenses the
Rhoades noted an inflection point occurring information offered in the event’s keynotes, panel
at 200 mm, with a transition to single-wafer discussions, and technical presentations. It also provides links to
processing. In the 100-mm to 150-mm wafer video recordings of the keynotes, technical presentations and panel
sizes, the traditional process sequence has discussions, and slide decks.
involved batch polishing and batch lapping at Visit bit.ly/3oCmd9H to download the ebook.
the wafer-polishing and -shaping steps, and
those are starting to show a geometric lim-

POWERING THE FUTURE
‘AspenCore Guide to Silicon Carbide’: New Book

Explores SiC in Smart-Energy Era

By Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio and Nitin Dahad

egardless of your target application, if you’re working on elec- silicon-only equivalents. Robustness and greater dependability are
tronics design and development today, you can’t afford to treat other important attributes, resulting in higher total device life expec-
power as an afterthought. “AspenCore Guide to Silicon Carbide: tancy and operational stability.
REnabling a Smart Energy Future” is a new resource for navigat-
ing silicon carbide technology’s expanding role in the industry’s efforts In the newest AspenCore guide, tech and
to enable renewable smart power and power conversion efficiency.
The book, available exclusively from the EE Times Store, provides a market experts guide engineers and executives
backgrounder on SiC technology, explaining how and why its electrical through the process of integrating SiC power
characteristics are suited to power electronics systems in different
vertical markets; explores SiC’s practical implementation in devices; devices into systems and applications.
and examines its market traction now and its potential as a mainstream
technology for the future.
The power electronics sector has been transitioning toward SiC technology has entered the deployment stage just as the
wide-bandgap materials as silicon hits its theoretical performance global drive toward energy sustainability pushes industries to
limitations for power devices. WBG power semiconductor devices based deliver cleaner, more efficient electrical power conversion. The auto
on SiC and gallium nitride technologies provide design advantages industry’s wholesale shift toward vehicle electrification, driven by
that allow improved application performance, including low leakage global CO emission-reduction objectives, helped kickstart SiC market
2
current, significantly reduced power losses, higher power density, growth, fueling product development that is expected to move SiC
higher-frequency operation, and the ability to tolerate higher operating power devices into broader industrial, electromobility, and
temperatures, all in a smaller device size than would be possible for renewable-energy applications.

MARCH 2022 | www.eetimes.eu