SiC power semiconductors will form a market

According to the latest global power semiconductor market survey results, the global power semiconductor market size (calculated on the basis of supply value) in 2013 increased by 5.9% from the previous year to US$14.313 billion. Although negative growth was recorded in 2012, the recovery of demand in the Chinese market in 2013, steady growth in the automotive sector, and the expansion of investment in new energy equipment have played a catalytic role.

It is expected that it will continue to grow in 2014, and the demand for white goods, automobiles, and industrial equipment will be expected to expand after 2015. Yano Research Institute of Economics predicts that by 2020, the global power semiconductor market (calculated according to the supply value) will reach 29.45 billion U.S. dollars. For various types of devices, the highest growth rate of power modules is expected, and the popularity of new generation vehicles (HV and EV), new energy equipment, and plant equipment is expected to expand.

In the new generation of power semiconductor SiC, it was previously mainly used for diodes, and since 2013, some transistors have also begun to use SiC. From the second half of 2014, component manufacturers began mass production of SiC wafers with a diameter of 6 inches (150mm). It is expected that the cost will be reduced from 2015 to 2016, and the usage will be further expanded. The Yano Institute of Economic Research predicts that the global market size of new generation power semiconductors in 2020 (calculated on the basis of supply value) will be driven by SiC power semiconductors to 2.82 billion U.S. dollars.

The targets of the survey were power semiconductor manufacturers, wafer vendors, and system vendors. They were implemented from October 2013 to June 2014. The devices involved include power MOSFETs, IPD (IntelligentPowerDevice), diodes, IGBTs, power modules, and bipolar transistors. According to the survey data, the market size was calculated by adding the data of silicon power semiconductors and power semiconductors using a new generation of materials such as SiC and GaN.