The US semiconductor kingpin Texas Instruments (TI) held a media briefing to discuss the latest power density solutions, the potential expansion of Gallium Nitride (GaN) usage in automotive and industrial scenarios, and competition between GaN and Silicon Carbide (SiC), two wide-bandgap semiconductors.
TI Taiwan system application engineer Martin Huang said GaN and SiC usage scenarios are primarily distinguished by voltage levels and added that GaN's competitiveness is decent in the mid-to-low voltage application range.
In recent years, the technological evolution of power modules has been rapid, Huang said. He added that applications such as electric vehicle charging stations and onboard chargers (OBCs) have gradually emerged, and many implicit new applications are also rapidly developing, indicating genuine market opportunities.
Huang said this has prompted TI to consider expanding the entry points for wide-bandgap semiconductors. He noted that the increasing number of non-traditional design architectures presents a good opportunity for developing wide-band gap semiconductors.
Huang said GaN is currently more widely used in on-board chargers in the automotive sector, while SiC has more room to play in high-voltage environments. Therefore, unless in more specific application scenarios, SiC remains the main wide-bandgap semiconductor used in automotive electronics.
Huang noted that SiC is mainly used in high-voltage applications, but GaN may appear in other mid-to-low-voltage environments. For example, GaN products have been introduced to the market for charging modules for consumer electronics in smart cabins.
As for the industrial sector, with various high and low voltage requirements, GaN also has advantages, particularly in scenarios where the unidirectional voltage is around 400V, Huang explained. In performance and technical feasibility, GaN has a significant cost advantage over SiC. He stated that GaN is expected to have a stronger market penetration in the coming years.
According to current industry information, most SiC processes still rely on 6-inch fabs with significant room for yield improvement, mainly due to limitations in crystal growth technology. GaN production has already entered the 8-inch process.
Gan has significant advantages over SiC in production capacity stability and cost structure. Except for scenarios where SiC is indispensable, customers may prefer GaN.
In the long run, GaN will also gradually upgrade to 12-inch processes. The overall trend in technological development is to replace Super Junction MOSFET products.
These MOSFET products are generally produced in 12-inch processes. For GaN to replace them, it must enter the 12-inch process to have sufficient production capacity.
Regarding the development of technologies such as GaN on SiC and GaN on GaN, Huang stated that GaN's strength lies in shrinking space and creating greater cost advantages, Huang said. Since cost reduction is the core consideration, GaN on SiC is more efficient than the other two technologies mentioned, but it also has higher costs.
Some of the drawbacks of GaN on Si in recent years have been eliminated. In the future, these technologies may only be used in scenarios with higher frequency requirements.
