2017/09/06 SiC : a clear alternative to silicon for high end power devices

What explains such growth? Power Factor Correction (PFC)/power supplies and photovoltaics (PV) drive the SiC power device market today. SiC has been involved in these applications for more than five years and is here to stay. For example, the PFC/power supply market has been the leading SiC application for several years, and still is in 2017. However, the PFC market share is expected to gradually decrease because other applications are growing. One important change is that we see transistors enter the market with Totem pole topology.

For PV applications, it seems widely accepted now that SiC’s use enables performance and cost benefits at system level for string PV inverters. Some players have validated the use of SiC MOSFETs and SiC diodes in their products, and we expect other players to follow. By itself, PV is expected reach more than $300M in 2022. The market will be driven by 1200V devices and the high power rating segment adopting SiC little by little.

In addition to these applications, adoption in electric vehicles (xEV) is now a reality, with Chinese carmaker BYD using SiC devices for on-board charging modules as a first example of market adoption. Among other xEV applications and players, the situation remains the same as 2016 for main inverters. Almost all the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier-1 suppliers are testing SiC devices. Some pioneers like Toyota, Nissan, and Honda will probably release SiC-based solutions around 2020. On the other hand, on-board chargers are embracing SiC technology, as shown by BYD’s move. SiC devices’ pre-2020 market volume in automotive applications will therefore mainly be for on-board chargers. After 2020, due to the high power rating of main inverters, even low adoption rates in that application will contribute to important revenue. In parallel, xEV charging infrastructure is adding an important new application. xEV-related applications will reach more than $250M in 2022, a big change compared to 2016.

Now, SiC transistors and diodes are available both as discrete devices and within modules, which remain the preferred solution for high power/high voltage applications. In 2016, the SiC diode chip market is estimated to be worth more than $205M, representing over 85% of the total SiC chip market. Several reasons account for the success of SiC diodes: for one, since their first commercialization in 2001, SiC diode performance and added value have gradually been proven and their price has become increasingly acceptable to end-users. Moreover, since 2009 ever more suppliers have entered the market. In fact we have identified 23 suppliers with commercially-available diodes as of July 2017. Finally, using SiC diodes does not require much integration effort, which is different from the case of transistors. Diode technology is also considered mature enough by the market. The cost of diodes also keeps decreasing and it is becoming a commodity. They can be used in discrete form for applications such as PFC, but are also widely used in hybrid solutions as well as full SiC modules so far. All this contributes to a promising diode market, which we estimate will be worth more than $500M in 2022, with a 2016-2022 CAGR of 19 %.

For the transistor market, there is no doubt that SiC MOSFETs are becoming mainstream. Infineon and United Silicon Carbide (USCi) are the two main JFET suppliers. USCi has also joined Infineon in the SiC MOSFET market, releasing its MOSFET device at PCIM 2016. However there is a division between supporters of trench and DMOS technologies. Trench defenders argue better performance, while on the other hand DMOS fans tout better reliability based on an established process. Both types of MOSFETs are commercially available, mostly in the form of discretes.

But because of this industry’s strong growth, the supply chain is under great pressure. Most of the main players are moving to manufacturing on 6’’diameter wafers and therefore since mid-2016 there has been a short supply for 6’’ SiC wafers. This may continue until the beginning of 2018. Looking forward, some players have started investigating 8’’ processes. And more companies are able to provide SiC devices and modules. System makers like GE in the US are teaming up with module makers like Denmark’s Danfoss in order to get access to added-value full-SiC modules. At the SiC device level, the three main players remain Wolfspeed, Infineon and ROHM, which together share almost 70% of the market. More than 25 companies are involved in the remaining 30%.

The SiC power device market is moving faster than ever, enabling new applications and reaching a respectable size. It will represent more than 6% of the total power device market in 2022 – and a significantly higher proportion of its profits.

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