Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technologies for Next-Generation Power Electronics: Materials, Devices, and Application Perspectives
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Silicon-based power semiconductors are starting to show their limits as high-power, high-frequency electronics get more common in things like electric cars, renewable energy, data centers, and phone networks. Silicon just can't handle the high voltages, quick switching, and heat that these systems need. Wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors look like a solution because they handle electricity and heat a lot better.
This paper takes a look at silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors and how they can power the next wave of electronics. We'll check out what makes them work well, like how much energy it takes to get electrons moving, how much electric field they can take, how fast electrons move through them, and how well they conduct heat. We'll also break down how SiC MOSFETs and GaN HEMTs work, looking at their designs. SiC devices are great for high-voltage, high-power jobs, while GaN devices shine in systems that need high frequency and pack a lot of power into a small space. Recent tests show SiC MOSFET converters hitting 98–99% efficiency, and GaN converters running at over 500 kHz with power densities over 50 kW/L [14–16].
We'll also look at where these materials are being put to work, like in electric car motors, renewable energy systems, power supplies, and phone networks, to show why they matter to industry. The paper also covers some of the current issues, like defects in the materials, how reliable the devices are, how tricky they are to make, and how much they cost. Besides that, we'll peek at some upcoming ultra-wide bandgap materials like gallium oxide and diamond, which might be used for super-high-voltage stuff in the future [19–20]. All in all, WBG semiconductors are going to be key in making power electronics more efficient, smaller, and able to handle heat in future energy and communication systems.
Downloads
References
B. J. Baliga, Fundamentals of Power Semiconductor Devices. New York, NY, USA: Springer, 2008.
U. K. Mishra, “Wide bandgap semiconductors for power electronics,” Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 111, no. 6, pp. 945–961, 2023.
F. Roccaforte, P. Fiorenza, G. Greco, R. Lo Nigro, F. Giannazzo, and M. Saggio, “Wide bandgap semiconductor devices for power electronics,” Micromachines, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 1–24, 2022.
U. K. Mishra, P. Parikh, and Y. F. Wu, “AlGaN/GaN HEMTs—An overview of device operation and applications,” Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 90, no. 6, pp. 1022–1031, 2002.
L. Spaziani and L. Lu, “SiC power devices: Technology and applications,” in Proc. IEEE Int. Symp. Power Semiconductor Devices and ICs (ISPSD), 2018, pp. 1–4.
Y. Gunaydin, A. Castellazzi, and T. Ericsen, “Advanced SiC MOSFET technologies for high-power applications,” in Proc. IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE), 2020, pp. 3264– 3270.
R. Lo Nigro, F. Roccaforte, and F. Giannazzo, “Gallium nitride devices for power electronics: Current status and future perspectives,” Materials, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 1–19, 2022.
S. M. Abd El-Azeem and S. M. El-Ghanam, “Applications of silicon carbide devices in electric vehicle power systems,” Cryogenics, vol. 109, pp. 103102, 2020.
P. Paniyil and R. Singh, “Wide bandgap semiconductor devices for renewable energy systems,” ECS Transactions, vol. 91, no. 1, pp. 25–34, 2019.
V. Viswan, “GaN technology for advanced communication systems,” International Journal of Research in Engineering, Science and Management (IJRESM), vol. 1, no. 5, pp. 45–50, 2018.
S. Madhusoodhanan, A. Tripathi, and S. Bhattacharya, “Reliability analysis of wide bandgap power semiconductor devices,” IEEE Electron Device Letters, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 421–424, 2017.
F. M. Shah, M. A. Hannan, and A. Mohamed, “Power electronics applications of wide bandgap semiconductor devices,” in Proc. IEEE CPE-POWERENG, 2018, pp. 1–6.
T. Kimoto, “Material science and technology of silicon carbide power devices,” Applied Physics Reviews, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 011302, 2024.
K. Chen and U. K. Mishra, “GaN power electronics for high-frequency converters,” IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 1543–1555, 2023.
H. Zhang, Y. Wang, and J. Li, “Recent progress in SiC power devices for electric vehicle applications,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 6210–6222, 2024.
J. Millan, P. Godignon, and X. Perpiñà, “A survey of wide bandgap power semiconductor devices,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 85–98, 2024.
A. Briere, M. Meneghini, and G. Meneghesso, “Reliability challenges in GaN power devices,” Microelectronics Reliability, vol. 146, pp. 114977, 2024.
S. J. Pearton, F. Ren, and M. Tadjer, “Gallium oxide for next-generation power electronics,” Advanced Electronic Materials, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 2201027, 2023.
M. Higashiwaki, K. Sasaki, and A. Kuramata, “Ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors for nextgeneration power electronics,” Nature Electronics, vol. 8, pp. 15–25, 2025.
IEEE Power Electronics Society, Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Reliability Roadmap, IEEE Report, 2025.
Yole Intelligence, “Power SiC and GaN Market Report,” Market Research Report, 2024..
S. Chowdhury and U. K. Mishra, “Lateral GaN transistors for high-frequency power electronics,” IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. 70, no. 3, pp. 1121–1130, 2023.
J. W. Palmour, C. H. Carter, and R. Singh, “Advances in SiC power MOSFET technology,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 7001–7012, 2024.
H. Amano, Y. Baines, and T. Takeuchi, “The future of GaN power electronics,” Nature Electronics, vol. 6, pp. 259–269, 2023.
D. Reusch and J. Glaser, “Power density improvements using GaN devices in power converters,” in Proc. IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC), 2024, pp. 115–120.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles published in our journal are licensed under CC-BY 4.0, which permits authors to retain copyright of their work. This license allows for unrestricted use, sharing, and reproduction of the articles, provided that proper credit is given to the original authors and the source.