The global power semiconductor market is expected to grow to $53 billion, and technological competition in the compound-based power semiconductor sector is intensifying. A variety of materials, from silicon (Si) to silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN), and gallium oxide (Ga2O3), are expected to dominate the next-generation power semiconductor market, and a forum has been set up to share related technologies and prospects.

The ' 2022 Power Semiconductor Technology Seminar ' hosted by ele4 was held on the 19th at the COEX conference room in Samseong-dong, Seoul.

The seminar consisted of sessions that examined power semiconductor market and technology trends and provided insights into SiC and GaN semiconductors, which are emerging as next-generation semiconductors.

Professor Cha Ho-young of the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at Hongik University emphasized in his presentation on “Power Semiconductor Market and Technology Trends for the Digital Green New Deal” that “for the Digital Green New Deal, it is necessary to reduce carbon dioxide and power consumption and maximize energy efficiency,” and that “power semiconductors are key components in the electric vehicle and renewable energy sectors.”

Professor Cha, who assessed that the domestic SiC power semiconductor sector is about three years behind the global trend due to its lack of technology and production scale, said, “Although there are major companies such as Infineon, ST, and ON Semiconductor in the power semiconductor market, it is not a monopoly. There are over 200 types of IGBTs alone, so there are a lot of companies dividing the power semiconductor market,” and argued, “It would be appropriate for small and medium-sized companies to enter the domestic ecosystem.”

Professor Cha stated, "GaN would be good if it were vertical, but for that to happen, the substrate would also have to be GaN, and this is a technical challenge."He evaluated that "Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) is superior in terms of materials for the next generation." Ga2O3 is an oxide semiconductor with a breakdown field three times larger than that of SiC or GaN, and is a material that is attracting attention in the power semiconductor market. Due to the difficulty in manufacturing P-type semiconductors from Ga2O3, active research and development is underway, but Professor Cha questioned whether it will be commercialized.

He predicted that semiconductors based on SiC and GaN materials will expand, explaining, "SiC is primarily used in EVs and is also used in the electric vehicle and energy sectors. GaN is primarily used in the rapid charger market."

In a subsequent session, Kim Hyo-soo, Senior Researcher at ROHM Semiconductor Korea, stated, "Automotive devices account for the largest proportion of all SiC devices." As of fiscal 2021, the SiC device market, driven by the automotive and industrial equipment sectors, accounted for over 60% of total SiC device sales.

Looking at vehicle applications, it is applied to △OBC △DCDC △main inverter, etc., and in the industrial equipment field, it is applied to △induction heater △battery charge/discharge test equipment, etc., he explained. In addition, he added, “It is being used in devices that go into PV inverters in the energy sector and servers and base station towers in the information and communications sector.”
Dr. Lee Hyung-seok of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), who presented "GaN Device Technology and Market Trends," highlighted the economic value of 1% of power consumption. In Korea, this 1% represents a value of 4 trillion won, and he emphasized that improving energy efficiency by upgrading appliances from Grade 2 to Grade 1 could save approximately 8,320 GWh. This is equivalent to the annual power production of three thermal power plants.

Dr. Lee stated that GaN semiconductors have advantages in high-speed and miniaturization, and from a material perspective, they have superior FOM compared to Si and SiC. From a technological perspective, they enable high power conversion efficiency and miniaturization due to fast switching performance. He added that they can be applied to high-power devices (SBDs, FETs) and optical devices (LEDs), and are expected to be utilized not only in low-power digital electronic products such as smartphones and PCs, but also in the space industry due to their ability to withstand extreme environments.

In terms of technical challenges, Dr. Lee emphasized the heat dissipation issue of GaN power semiconductors. He stated, "While silicon substrates reach temperatures of 200-300°C, SiC substrates reach temperatures lower at 150°C, and diamond substrates reach temperatures of up to 70°C. In comparison, diamond substrates offer over three times better heat dissipation performance." He explained that if future GaN technology can control substrate prices, diamond substrates could be used for power semiconductors. In addition, he presented on technological trends such as △8-inch large-area substrates and △high-voltage vertical GaN.

On this day, Vice President Kim Dong-soo of IQ Lab, Director Ahn Byeong-nam of TI Korea, and Vice President Kim Seong-yoon of Byco attended the event and conducted a power semiconductor technology seminar.

Meanwhile, the 2022 e4ds Semiconductor Trend Day , hosted by Channel 5 Korea, will be held at COEX on the 10th. In addition to sessions covering the latest trends in GaN, SiC, and automotive semiconductors, a special offline session featuring Professor Hwang Cheol-seong of Seoul National University's Distinguished Professorship on "Next-Generation Memory Development Direction and Material Trends - 3D Stacked DRAM Technology" will be held.

For more details, please visit the e4ds news homepage ( https://www.e4ds.com/seminar_introduce.asp?idx=131 ).