In the hurry up world of power electronics, the change in semiconductor is not just about changing the material; it is about energy conservation and stability of systems, and long term value. For the last fifty years silicon has been the material of choice for practically all devices and systems. It has an existing supply chain, a read source of raw material and established processing technologies. But in applications from electric vehicles to photovoltaic power generation, energy storage and industrial inverters, which cry out for greater efficiency and increased power density, the limitations of silicon are all too obvious.
Enter the third generation wide-bandgap semiconductor: silicon carbide, which is already poised to deliver riches in terms of thermal stability, and resistance to voltage, switching speed and energy conversion efficiency. For independent station operators, designers, procurement teams and for the manufacturers themselves who are all used to making comparisons between silicon carbide and silicon, the understanding of the difference between the two is not a purely technical problem but a problem for cost-reduction and competitive advantage.
Focusing on efficiency performance, this article discusses differences between Silicon Carbide and Silicon: comparison of material characteristics, applications and extreme environment adaptation. A run down of cost structure, trends in the market.explanation of as many buzz words as possible like silicon carbide wafer,silicon carbide powder,silicon carbide substrates,siC waffer,silicon carbide semiconductor, silicon carbide mosfet, silicon carbide diode , silicon carbide sbd, silicon carbide manufacturer in China, silicon carbide supplier price, etc.
basic physical properties limit the up limit of efficiency. As we all know that the band gap of Silicon was around 1.12eV, so it cannot block voltage and high temperature. Because when the temperature get more higher, the leakage current increase ,power loss increase faster and faster. Whereas 4H−SiC, the mainstream type in power electronic applications, its band gap is 3.26eV, almost three times wider than silicon. Because of the wide band gap, even at high temperature, silicon carbide device still has extremely low leakage current, saving more unnecessary energy loss. One other important parameter is breakdown field strength. Silicon only allow about 0.3MV/cm, while silicon carbide reaches 3.0MV/cm, ten times higher. Under the same voltage level, silicon carbide devices can use much thinner drift region to greatly reduce the on−resistance. Lower on−resistance means lower conduction loss, which is the most direct improvement to efficiency in actual use. Then, thermal conductivity also has big impact on efficiency. Thermal conductivity of silicon is about 150W/m·K, while silicon carbide’s is 490W/m·K, three times higher. Higher thermal conductivity makes better ideal of eliminating heat, so high power density can maintain stable performance of silicon carbide devices, no need for big volume heat dissipation.It also makes the system more efficient, and reduces the volume and weight of whole system. For electric vehicles, even if the difficulty of producing such devices is worse than silicon, silicon carbide has gradually evolved into the only means of coping with high efficiency.
The gap between silicon carbide and silicon can be more clearly seen in actual power electronic applications. The tail current of devices produced on silicon is obvious, especially IGBTs, which have this obvious tail current during switching, and produce large switching loss, limiting the maximum operating frequency. Silicon carbide MOSFET and silicon carbide SBD have almost no tail current in ultrafast switching, even in the case of switching loss approaching zero, so that the system can increase the operating frequency, reduce the volume of inductance and capacitance, and further improve the utilization rate of energy. Usually, in an electric vehicle inverter, silicon carbide can come from the traditional 95 so increased to 96% or more to more than 99%, so that this 3 to 4% of the efficiency will be based on the same capacity of the battery increase drive 5% ~ 10% or so, this is the car companies competition point for users want to buy silicon carbide wafer for EV applications, the power generation effect of yearlong will return to the cost of the material.Photovoltaic Inverters: SiC devices can not only improve the maximum efficiency of 98.5% to more than 99.5% improvement, but also can maintain a high efficiency in light load conditions too solar energy into available electricity. It raises the return on investment of the photovoltaic system. It is often used in centralized inverters, string inverters and micro – inverters.
In the case of industrial motor drives, high – power inverters from about 95% efficiency to more than 98%, greatly reduce power consumption. For factories and mining enterprises that operate for a long time, the saved cost of electricity for a year is hard to figure. In addition, the above silica carbide power inverter scenarios can adapt to higher temperatures, in harsh environments can reduce the failure rate and maintenance costs.
Silicon carbide also has an overwhelming advantage in extreme environments: silicon devices are generally hard to work stably at above 150°C temperature, it can work stably at close to 600°C. This advantage makes it apply to the practical application of the aerospace, oil and gas underground detection, high temperature industrial control and other technology used by silicon difficulty of application of territory, silica carbide high more quickly and can stand a higher degree of shock voltage, greatly improving their robustness. Relays and fault analysis of high voltage systems using such technology, turn rest of it off quickly for well protected! For electrical suppliers in China that deliver silica carbide based protections, this is a a major opportunity to enhance their competitiveness!
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Another point that may be of interest is cost, with the price of devices like their costing more typically for a die than for a wafer. Total cost of ownership is of course lower, and because the fact that silica carbide manufacturers in China have slowly been these and the technology of 6‑inch and 8‑inch SiC wafer are gradually popular in more recent years, the price have been dropping heavily. The SiC is now held that rate, SiC supplier price and SiC wholesale prices is rising significantly, the hubbutmore cost performances of chip comparatively is a lot better, thus achieving achieve large‑scale applied. Overall still at current, the global SiC semiconductor market, rapidly, benefiting from rapidly demand from need of electric vehicles, energy storage and photovoltaics. In the China has form a complete industry chain of SiC from powder, substrate and wafer to juice amp; device, and these while also improve sun, and the cost of the materials SiC is gradually begins of approach of silicon, so can see the of replacement of more efficient of the is more to the efficient ethereal of is and in high power, high reliability, status for the enterprise of energy, engaged in powder of equipment and of new energy or or industrial electronics, for choice of the order picks a silicon die, not only picks of is picks from the products such makes its products more tiny of is so, for their hold of that the will bring longer serve eats and is of cost coffin thus lower of long term cost. The engineer makes whether you, designer, purchasing or is the boss of the hold worker, is is am believer of treat to you in advance a enter of thought of attached piece knowledge of SiC and of the what the performance is a piece of di of as contrasted to it, for your choice of material design and supplier more prudent. To recognize really SiC is not simply silicon of replacement, but is power electronics of 7 years tearing down skyline of again and of re assembled xing rated in again! to of new upgrade, the candy of oil energy saving, such the hey of carbon reduction trends well do come such of an era of carbons so, so must be the of SiC systems of this of next generation of power, have must have it as core material, its advantage of efficiency larger will expand even larger are those was understands the to and its more who understand the what are war in more benefit in the price and performance of.