Power semiconductors: Looking ahead: Consumer applications will grow for moderate-current devices while large-diameter wafers await packaging innovations

Starting cautiously with the earliest solid-state diodes and transistors, applications for solid-state power control devices first took off with the commercial introduction of silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs) in December 1957. Since then, the power-handling capabilities of silicon devices have so improved that 8000-kVA phase-controlled locomotives and high-voltage dc transmission (HVDC) designs deploying 500 MW now use solid-state components. But in terms of potential dollar volume, perhaps the largest growth area for solid-state power devices involves handling the relatively modest power levels associated with home wiring and consumer electronics. New, interesting applications in this area include emergency lighting, static relays, ground-fault circuit interrupters, and home-appliance speed controls. Building code and/or legislative support exists for ground fault interrupter and emergency lighting, while static relays and appliance speed controls are essentially displacement-type markets.