A recent GBI Research report on the Discrete Power Semiconductor device market (forecasting up to 2020) shows an increased demand from the Hybrid Electric Vehicles Solar and Wind Energy markets. Although the majority of the market is dominated by Silicon MOSFETs and Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) Silicon Carbide (SiC) has emerged as a viable replacement due to its advantages over conventional Silicon devices. SiC is 700X better than Si for power semiconductor switching improves efficiency of a device by more than 20% and facilitates the production and usage of devices with much smaller form factor. However SiC IGBTs suffer from three fundamental problems: (i) low gate oxide reliability (ii) long term threshold voltage drift and (iii) low channel mobility. A Rutgers University electrical engineering professor has designed a novel Voltage Gated Bi-polar Transistor (VGBT) power switching device that offers all the desired characteristics of an IGBT without the three fundamental problems mentioned above. In general SiC power devices have advantageous properties including a wider band gap larger critical electric field and higher thermal conductivity allowing them to operate at higher temperatures and voltages in addition to higher power and current density over the pure Si devices. These properties allow the SiC discrete devices to operate at much higher voltage levels which are difficult for Silicon devices. SiC based devices also help in reducing conduction and switching losses thus offering higher efficiencies in electronic systems.
1) Bi-polar Transistor (VGBT) power switching device offering all the desired characteristics of an IGBT without the three fundamental problems mentioned above. 2) Advantageous SiC power devices properties including wider band gap larger critical electric field higher thermal conductivity to operate at higher temperatures and voltages in addition to higher power and current density over the pure Si devices. 3) Allows the SiC discrete devices to operate at much higher voltage reduce conduction and switching losses offer higher efficiencies in electronic systems.