Abstract
This paper is dedicated to the recent unprecedented boom of SiC electronic technology. The contribution deals with a brief survey of those properties. In particular, the differences (both good and bad) between SiC electronics technology and well-known silicon VLSI technology are highlighted. Projected performance benefits of SiC electronics are given for several large-scale applications at the end of the contribution. The basic properties of SiC material were discussed already at the beginning of 1980's, also in our work place [1].
Highlights
Silicon carbide (SiC) based semiconductor electronic devices and circuits are presently being developed for the use in high-temperature, high-power, and/or high-radiation conditions under which conventional semiconductors cannot adequately perform
Silicon carbide’s ability to function under such extreme conditions is expected to enable significant improvements to a far-ranging variety of applications and systems. These range from greatly improved high-voltage switching for energy savings in public electric power distribution and electric motor drives to more powerful microwave electronics for radar and communications to sensors and controls for cleaner-burning more fuel-efficient jet aircraft and automobile engines
In the particular area of power devices, theoretical appraisals have indicated that SiC power MOSFET’s and diode rectifiers would operate over higher voltage and temperature ranges, have superior switching characteristics, and yet have die sizes nearly 20 times smaller than correspondingly rated silicon-based devices. These tremendous theoretical advantages have yet to be realized in experimental SiC devices, primarily due to the fact that SiC’s relatively immature crystal growth and device fabrication technologies are not yet sufficiently developed to the degree required for reliable incorporation into most electronic systems
Summary
Silicon carbide (SiC) based semiconductor electronic devices and circuits are presently being developed for the use in high-temperature, high-power, and/or high-radiation conditions under which conventional semiconductors cannot adequately perform. In the particular area of power devices, theoretical appraisals have indicated that SiC power MOSFET’s and diode rectifiers would operate over higher voltage and temperature ranges, have superior switching characteristics, and yet have die sizes nearly 20 times smaller than correspondingly rated silicon-based devices. These tremendous theoretical advantages have yet to be realized in experimental SiC devices, primarily due to the fact that SiC’s relatively immature crystal growth and device fabrication technologies are not yet sufficiently developed to the degree required for reliable incorporation into most electronic systems. To take place, so that heatsinks and other device-cooling hardware (i.e., fan cooling, liquid cooling, air conditioning, etc.) typically needed to keep high-power devices from overheating can be made much smaller or even eliminated
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