Silicon Carbide
A wide-bandgap semiconductor material with a bandgap of approximately 3.2 eV, offering a high breakdown electric field, low on-resistance and high-temperature operating capability.
Timeline (last 90 days)
Traditional silicon-based IGBTs have approached their limits in efficiency and voltage withstand, and wide-bandgap semiconductors (such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride) as well as devices designed specifically for pulsed-power scenarios have become key to the commercialization of fusion power plants.
SiC devices are already commercially deployed at scale in EV inverters and photovoltaic inverters, but fusion operating conditions impose higher requirements on current density and radiation resistance, which existing commercial products cannot yet directly meet.
The global SiC substrate market has long been dominated by U.S.-based Wolfspeed, with a market share that once exceeded 60%.
GaN devices can achieve switching frequencies at the MHz level, while SiC typically operates at 100–300 kHz, giving SiC an irreplaceable advantage in medium-to-large power scenarios above 1 kW.
Silicon carbide (SiC) has a bandgap of 3.26 eV, approximately three times that of conventional silicon (1.12 eV).
All Facts (5)
Traditional silicon-based IGBTs have approached their limits in efficiency and voltage withstand, and wide-bandgap semiconductors (such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride) as well as devices designed specifically for pulsed-power scenarios have become key to the commercialization of fusion power plants.
50%UnverifiedSiC devices are already commercially deployed at scale in EV inverters and photovoltaic inverters, but fusion operating conditions impose higher requirements on current density and radiation resistance, which existing commercial products cannot yet directly meet.
50%UnverifiedThe global SiC substrate market has long been dominated by U.S.-based Wolfspeed, with a market share that once exceeded 60%.
50%UnverifiedGaN devices can achieve switching frequencies at the MHz level, while SiC typically operates at 100–300 kHz, giving SiC an irreplaceable advantage in medium-to-large power scenarios above 1 kW.
50%UnverifiedSilicon carbide (SiC) has a bandgap of 3.26 eV, approximately three times that of conventional silicon (1.12 eV).
50%