After decades of development of semiconductor materials, the first generation of silicon material semiconductors has been close to perfect crystals, and the research on silicon materials is also very thorough. The design and development of silicon-based devices has also undergone many generations of structural and process optimization and updating, and is gradually approaching the limit of silicon, and the potential for improving the performance of silicon-based devices is getting smaller and smaller. in order toGallium nitride The third-generation semiconductors represented by silicon carbide have excellent material physical properties, which provides more space for further improving the performance of power electronic devices.

SiC is a compound semiconductor material composed of silicon (Si) and carbon (C). It has a very strong binding force and is very stable in thermal, chemical and mechanical aspects. There are various polymorphs (polymorphs) of SiC, and they all have different values of physical properties. 4H-SiC is best suited for power devices. The following table shows a comparison between Si and semiconductor materials that have been frequently heard in recent years.

The third-generation semiconductor high-power power electronic devices represented by SiC are one of the fastest-growing power semiconductor devices in the field of power electronics. As a typical representative of the third generation of semiconductor materials, silicon carbide is also the most mature and widely used crystal production technology and device manufacturing level Wide bandgap semiconductors One of the materials, at present, has formed a global industrial chain of materials, devices and applications. It is an ideal semiconductor material for high-temperature, high-frequency, radiation-resistant, and high-power applications. Because silicon carbide power devices can significantly reduce the energy consumption of electronic devices, silicon carbide devices are also known as "green energy devices" that drive the "new energy revolution".

1、Semiconductor lighting field

LEDs using silicon carbide as substrate have great advantages in high-power LEDs due to higher brightness, lower energy consumption, longer life, and smaller unit chip area.

2. All kinds of motor systems

In the field of high-voltage applications above 5 thousand volts, semiconductor silicon carbide power devices are used in switching loss and surge voltage, which can reduce the switching loss by up to 92%, and the power consumption of semiconductor silicon carbide power devices is significantly reduced, and the heat generation of the equipment is greatly reduced, so that the cooling mechanism of the equipment is further simplified, the volume of the equipment is miniaturized, and the consumption of metal materials for heat dissipation is greatly reduced.

3、New energy vehicles andUps and other power electronics fields

The new energy vehicle industry requires semiconductor power modules for inverters (i.e., motor drives) to be far more reliable than ordinary industrial inverters when handling high-intensity currents. In the high-current power module, the semiconductor silicon carbide module with better heat dissipation, high efficiency, fast speed, high temperature resistance and high reliability fully meets the requirements of new energy vehicles.

The miniaturization of semiconductor silicon carbide power modules can greatly reduce the power loss of new energy vehicles, so that they can still operate normally at high temperatures of 200°C. Lighter, smaller devices reduce weight, reducing energy consumption due to the car's own weight.

In addition to playing an important role in the energy conservation of new energy vehicles, semiconductor silicon carbide materials have played an excellent role in energy conservation and environmental protection in the fields of power electronics such as high-speed rail, solar photovoltaic, wind energy, power transmission, and UPS uninterruptible power supply.

4. Make electronic devices smaller

Reduce the volume of laptop adapters by 80% and reduce the volume of a substation to the size of a suitcase. This is also an exciting aspect of silicon carbide semiconductors.

With the country's emphasis on the third generation of semiconductor materials, in recent years, China's semiconductor materials market has developed rapidly. Among them, silicon carbide-based materials have attracted much attention. Despite this, the industrial problems still need to be solved, such as the manufacturing process and quality of China's materials have not reached the forefront of the world, the material manufacturing equipment is seriously dependent on imports, and the industrial chain of silicon carbide devices has not yet been formed.