THE (SOMETIMES PROFUSELY) BLEEDING EDGE:
SiC vs GaN
SEMICONDUCTORS
28
ust as engineers are starting to get used to
the advantages (and quirks) of silicon carbide
(SiC ) devices, another semiconductor mate-
rial joins the fray: gallium nitride, or GaN.
Though there are some superficial similarities between
these two materials, and even some overlap in their areas
of best use, it is my opinion that only one of them is going
to see widespread application in EV power converters
such as chargers, inverters, etc.
SiC and GaN are both classified as wide band-gap and
compound semiconductor materials. The latter classifica-
tion just means they are comprised of different elements,
and is all but irrelevant here, but the wide band-gap
classification does have profound implications for device
behavior and performance. This is because the term
band gap basically describes how difficult it is to get a
material to conduct electricity without having to ionizeJ
TECH OPINION By Jeffrey JenkinsBand gap basically
describes how difficult
it is to get a material
to conduct electricity
without having to ionize
it first (that is, turn it
into plasma).
THE TECH