May We Discuss GaN and SiC?

Our May issue deals with Wide-Bandgap Semiconductors + Packaging Technologies, a compound topic that comprises two of the hottest themes in the industry – Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC).

If APEC was any indication, 2018 will be a SiC year, with GaN a close second. These topics are absolutely ubiquitous – if the companies we visited at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio weren’t promoting SiC directly (or it encompassed part of their name, like United Silicon Carbide), it showed up indirectly via their product demos.

There’s no escaping GaN and SiC.

In the May issue, United Silicon Carbide lives up to its namesake with the article “SiC Cascodes: Fast-Track to Wide-Bandgap Performance and Efficiency.”

Anup Bhalla, VP of Engineering at UnitedSiC, notes that, in order to maximize the benefits of silicon carbide diodes and MOSFETs in 600 V or 1200 V ratings, “the circuit ideally should be designed from the ground up, using optimized gate-drive circuitry to provide the asymmetrical turn-on/turn-off voltages required by SiC FETs, and smaller magnetic components made possible by SiC’s high-frequency capability.”

Anup discusses the challenges of replacing a silicon MOSFET with a comparable SiC MOSFET and connecting a SiC JFET with a traditional silicon MOSFET as a cascode circuit.

Linear Technology talks about high-voltage ICs – specifically, using them to replace automotive surge suppression devices.

“Whether it’s a load dump, cold crank or high temperature under the hood, automotive onboard power supplies need to be designed to operate reliably under all of these conditions,” says Linear’s Bruce Haug.

“During a load dump transient, voltages in excess of 120V can be generated for hundreds of milliseconds,” notes Haug. This necessitates the need for high-voltage ICs.

Alpha Assembly Solutions discusses package innovations in relation to Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN). These wide bandgap devices will enable “significantly higher performance power switching applications, especially in applications such as automotive traction inverters.”

Powerbox explores Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology a bit deeper. The piece by Patrick Le Fèvre delves a bit further into the ubiquity of SiC and GaN at APEC 2018.

“This year’s event was definitely the real ‘kick-off’ point for wide bandgap semiconductors, especially the ones based on Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology,” notes Le Fèvre.

“GaN started its journey five years ago, and is following a similar path to digital power by moving gradually from a ‘technical curiosity’ to a ‘commercial product’,” he says.

Finally, ON Semiconductor discusses solving the thermal challenge for new designs.

“The best approach to thermal management is not dealing with the waste heat, it is to find more efficient approaches so that the heat is not generated in the first instance,” says On Semi’s Dongsup Eom.

And “correct selection of the topology and, more importantly, the power switching components, is critical to achieving this.”

PSD