SiC Power Devices - Recent and Upcoming Developments

After a hype regarding the potential of silicon carbide based components in power electronics (mostly diodes and switches), we observed during the last years a consolidation phase. It was worked out that the expectation that silicon will be completely removed by SiC in power electronic applications will not happen in the timeframe foreseeable today. However, benefits of these new power devices were more clearly identified and applications were depicted where the use of these new components, in particular Schottky barrier diodes available from Infineon and Cree, can be a technical and commercial access already today. For a further market penetration, new generations of diodes as well as powerful switching devices are released recently resp. ready to commercialization. Especially upcoming markets for high voltage power devices like the hybrid car and the continuing trend to higher power densities push these developments. Supported by the improvements in base material quality and size, SiC power devices are believed to be on the hop to a next important step regarding its propagation in a broader range of applications. The paper sketches these recent developments and shows how the improved performance can provide new perspectives in conventional systems as well as new solutions