Application Analysis of Silicon Carbide in Semiconductor Industry
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Update time : 2023-12-01 11:33:10
Silicon carbide materials mainly include single crystals and ceramics. Whether as single crystals or ceramics, silicon carbide materials have become one of the critical materials of the three hundred billion track, such as semiconductors, new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, etc. In terms of single crystals, silicon carbide, as the most mature third-generation semiconductor material, is the hottest semiconductor material in recent years. Especially in the context of the "double carbon" strategy, silicon carbide is deeply bound to new energy vehicles, photovoltaic, energy storage and other energy-saving and carbon reduction industries, which has attracted much attention.
Semiconductors
Silicon Carbide solves the performance requirements that are difficult to meet in Silicon-based Devices. Silicon has always been the most commonly used material in the manufacture of semiconductor chips. More than 90% of semiconductor products are made on silicon substrate. The reason is that the reserve of silicon is large, the cost is relatively low, and the preparation is relatively simple. However, silicon's application in optoelectronics and high-frequency high-power devices is blocked, and the performance of silicon at high frequency could be better, so it is unsuitable for high-voltage applications. These limitations make it difficult for silicon-based power devices to meet the high-power and high-frequency performance requirements of emerging applications such as new energy vehicles and high-speed rail. In this context, silicon carbide walked into the spotlight. Compared with the first and second-generation semiconductor materials, SiC has excellent physical and chemical properties, such as high breakdown electric field, high saturated electron velocity, high thermal conductivity, high electron density and high mobility in addition to the band gap. The critical breakdown electric field of SiC is 10 times that of Si and 5 times that of GaAs, which increases the voltage withstand capacity, operating frequency and current density of SiC-based devices. It reduces the conduction loss of SiC-based devices. In addition, the thermal conductivity is higher than that of Cu, so there is no need for additional heat dissipation when the device is used, which reduces the volume of the whole machine. In addition, SiC devices have shallow conduction loss and can maintain good electrical performance at ultra-high frequencies. For example, from a three-level scheme based on Si devices to a two-level scheme based on SiC, the efficiency can be increased from 96% to 97.6%, and the power consumption can be reduced by up to 40%. Therefore, SiC devices have significant advantages in low-power, miniaturized and high-frequency application scenarios. Silicon carbide devices have become the "hot cake" pursued by new energy vehicles, photovoltaic and other popular tracks.
Technical Parameter of Silicon Carbide Nanoparticles Nano SiC Powder:
Product Name
MF
Purity
Particle Size
Crystal Form
SSA
Color
Silicon Carbide Nanoparticles
SiC
99%
60nm, 300nm, 500nm,1-3um
Cubic/ α/ β
29m2/g
Gray green
1) New energy vehicles.
Silicon carbide material can make the device smaller and smaller, and its performance is improving, so electric car manufacturers have favored it in recent years. Tesla took the lead in using silicon carbide on the Model 3 central drive inverter five years ago, which opened up a precedent for silicon carbide to "get on the bus." In addition, in the vehicle charger, using silicon carbide can obtain faster switching frequency FSW, higher efficiency, two-way operation, smaller passive components, smaller system size and lower system cost. Therefore, according to the characteristics of silicon carbide devices and the development trend of electric vehicles, silicon carbide devices are the inevitable choice of electric vehicles in the future.
2) Rail transit.
Compared with the traditional silicon-based IGBT, silicon carbide power devices can effectively increase the switching frequency and reduce the switching loss. Its high frequency can further reduce the noise, temperature, volume and weight of passive devices and improve the mobility and flexibility of the device application. It is the mainstream development direction of the new-generation traction inverter technology. The SiC device has been applied in the urban rail transit system. The No. 0312 train of Suzhou Rail Crossing Line 3 is the first permanent magnet direct drive traction system project based on SiC converter technology in China, which achieves the goal of 20% traction energy saving. The world's first SiC device loading operation test was conducted on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line in 2012. Since 2015, Japan has begun to use many SiC devices on railway vehicles, and by 2021, it will have entered the stage of universal application.
3) Photovoltaic power generation
In the application of photovoltaic power generation, the cost of traditional inverter based on silicon devices accounts for about 10% of the system. Still, it is one of the primary sources of system energy loss. After more than 40 years of development, silicon-based devices' conversion efficiency and power density are close to the theoretical limit. Using silicon carbide material, the conversion efficiency can be increased from 96% to more than 99%, the energy loss can be reduced by more than 50%, and the cycle life of the equipment can be increased by 50 times. For example, in tandem inverters in residential and commercial photovoltaic systems, silicon carbide devices bring cost and performance benefits at the system level. Leading photovoltaic inverters like Sunshine Power Supply have applied silicon carbide devices to their series inverters.
4) Smart Grid
Silicon carbide-based power switch is an ideal substitute for silicon-based devices because of its meager on-state resistance. It can be used in high-voltage, high-temperature and high-frequency applications. Compared with silicon power supply devices, the power loss caused by switching loss can be reduced by more than 5 times, and the volume and weight can be reduced by 40%, which will significantly impact the future power grid shape and energy strategy adjustment. (v) Wireless communication facilities. The development of 5G promotes the growth of demand for silicon carbide-based gallium nitride devices and has a broad market space. In microwave radio frequency devices, the power amplifier directly determines the key parameters, such as wireless communication distance and signal quality between the mobile terminal and the base station. 5G communication has higher performance requirements because of its high frequency, speed, and power. Gallium nitride RF devices based on silicon carbide substrate have the advantages of high thermal conductivity of silicon carbide and high power RF output of gallium nitride in the high-frequency band. The application in power amplifiers can meet the requirements of 5G communication for high-frequency performance and high power processing capacity.
Silicon carbide Supplier
Luoyang Trunnano Tech Co., Ltd (TRUNNANO) is a professional Silicon carbide powder supplier with over 12 years experience in chemical products research and development.
We accept payment via Credit Card, T/T, West Union and Paypal. Trunnano will ship the goods to customers overseas through FedEx, DHL, by air, or by sea.
