Electric Vehicles to Become the "Killer Application" for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors

On May 28, it was learned from the "Beijing (International) 3rd Generation Semiconductor Innovation and Development Forum" at the 2023 Zhongguancun Forum that wide bandgap (3rd generation) semiconductor materials and devices have globally crossed from R&D to large-scale mass production, emerging as a new engine driving the innovative development and transformation of the information and communication, new energy vehicle, photovoltaic and other industries. Wide bandgap semiconductors, represented by silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), feature high frequency, high efficiency, high voltage resistance, high temperature resistance and radiation resistance. Gan Yong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, pointed out that from the perspective of the international semiconductor industry development trend, Moore's Law dominated by silicon semiconductor materials has gradually approached physical limits, making it difficult to meet the rapid development of new demands such as microwave radio frequency, high-efficiency power electronics and optoelectronics. In this context, compound semiconductor materials, especially wide bandgap semiconductors, are crucial to the development of the international semiconductor industry. "With the large-scale construction and operation of new power-consuming facilities such as 5G base stations and data centers, energy consumption issues have emerged. The development of high-efficiency power conversion technology based on 3rd generation semiconductor materials is an urgent task. 3rd generation semiconductor materials and devices will drive the evolution of traditional power grids to semiconductor power grids. The next five years will be a critical period for the development of the 3rd generation semiconductor industry," said Gan Yong. New energy vehicles and photovoltaics have become the main fields for the large-scale application of wide bandgap semiconductors. Wu Ling, Chairman of the 3rd Generation Semiconductor Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, introduced that wide bandgap semiconductors are the "heart" of high-speed rail, new energy vehicle traction and electronic control systems, which can reduce the volume and weight of new energy vehicle electronic control systems by 80% and improve power conversion efficiency by 20%. Demand for SiC and GaN in the photovoltaic and energy storage sectors is growing steadily. Wu Ling predicted that in the photovoltaic field, the market scale of SiC and GaN power devices will achieve an average annual growth rate of about 25.5% in the next few years, reaching nearly 700 million yuan by 2026. In energy storage, the domestic market scale of SiC energy storage applications will reach about 400 million yuan by 2025. Currently, SiC power devices have been applied to key power systems inside electric vehicles, including traction inverters, DC/DC converters and on-board chargers. In the view of Victor Veliadis, Chairman of the IEEE International Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology Roadmap Committee, electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles are likely to become the "killer application" driving the large-scale commercialization of SiC. "SiC has a wider bandgap than silicon, allowing higher voltage blocking and being suitable for high-power and high-voltage applications. This can make DC/DC converters and on-board chargers more efficient, enabling faster charging and longer range for electric vehicles while reducing costs, making it highly competitive," explained Victor Veliadis. Yole, an international semiconductor market research institution, predicted that the global SiC power device market scale is expected to reach about 6.3 billion US dollars by 2027, of which the new energy vehicle SiC market space is expected to reach nearly 5 billion US dollars, accounting for nearly 80%, making it the largest downstream application market for SiC power devices. GaN also has considerable potential in energy conservation and efficiency improvement. Carlos Castro, Vice President of Nexperia, introduced that power GaN currently has two major application fields: one is the electric vehicle market, including on-board chargers, DC/DC converters and traction inverters; the other is the industrial field, such as photovoltaic inverters and data centers. "GaN offers higher efficiency, higher power density and lower system costs. Compared with silicon solutions, SiC on-board chargers reduce costs by about 13%, while GaN reduces system costs by 24%," said Carlos Castro. Cao Jianlin, Chairman of the International Semiconductor Lighting Alliance, stated that China has laid a certain foundation and accumulated experience in developing wide bandgap semiconductors. First, the industrial chain is relatively complete, providing a basis for technological breakthroughs and industrial collaborative development. Second, international semiconductor industry and equipment giants have not yet formed patent, standard and scale monopolies in the 3rd generation semiconductor field, giving Chinese enterprises the opportunity to catch up. Third, the precision manufacturing level and supporting capabilities related to semiconductors are improving rapidly. Fourth, the country is actively promoting the implementation of the "dual carbon" strategy and accelerating the deep integration of the new generation of information technology and industrialization, creating huge space for the development of emerging industries. However, Cao Jianlin also pointed out that China still needs to improve in aspects such as original innovation, application-oriented basic research capabilities and the establishment of an industrial innovation ecosystem for wide bandgap semiconductors. The article and images are sourced from the internet. Please notify us for deletion if there is any infringement. Thank you.