Silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductors have been manufactured for decades, but it was not until recently that demand for this technology became strong as the automotive market accelerated its biggest transformation towards electrification.http://www.ic-bom.com/

Due to the government‘s demand for climate change and potentially more important consumer demand growing exponentially, automotive original equipment manufacturers plan to make battery electric vehicles their main sales model in the next 10 to 15 years.

This shift towards electrification is increasingly determining the overall market demand for automotive power semiconductors. Initially, the automotive power market was dominated by silicon IGBTs and MOSFETs, while opportunities for broadband gap semiconductors such as SiC and gallium nitride (GaN) were limited to early adopters such as Tesla.http://www.ic-bom.com/

But with the current shift towards battery electric vehicles and the continuous transition of automotive original equipment manufacturers to electrified fleets, demand for silicon carbide is soaring.

For mild hybrid vehicles, this segment will continue to rely on the use of silicon MOSFETs, but if prices can be lowered to match current MOSFETs, GaN technology may be used. TechInsights said that in full hybrid vehicles and Plug-in hybrid, due to the cost-effectiveness of mainstream silicon IGBT and MOSFET technologies, broadband gap technologies such as SiC and GaN are not ideal.

Full battery EVs will become the main driving force for SiC chips in the main inverter, which will be added through increased use in power electronic systems such as DC-DC converters and car chargers. TechInsights stated that although SiC chips are much more expensive than other technologies, in the long run, the advantages of these technologies in reducing size and weight, as well as system performance and battery life, will help increase the popularity of electric vehicles.http://www.ic-bom.com/

The company is already planning and hoping that this growth will become a huge source of revenue. Earlier this month, STMicroelectronics, which accounts for about 50% of the whole automobile silicon carbide market, said that it would establish a 200mm silicon carbide manufacturing joint venture with San‘an Optoelectronics in Chongqing, China.

OnSemi has been investing and trading heavily, signing a 10-year SiC agreement with Vitesco Technologies, an automotive electronics manufacturer. In addition, after reaching a different supply agreement with EV charger manufacturer Kempower, the company promised to expand SiC production at one of its wafer factories with a new investment of $2 billion.http://www.ic-bom.com/

X-Fab has announced that it will spend $200 million to expand its chip factory in Lubbock, Texas, to produce more SiC devices. Bosch will acquire TSI Semiconductors, a US semiconductor foundry, to expand its own SiC chip product portfolio by the end of 2030. Bosch provided the expected transformation of automotive electrification as the reason for the acquisition.http://www.ic-bom.com/