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Strive for "carbon neutral", third generation semiconductor can improve energy conversion efficiency
Update Time : 2021-04-01 View : 2716
Strive for "carbon neutral", the third generation semiconductor can improve energy conversion efficiency
In order to cope with climate change, China proposes to strive for the peak of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, and strive to achieve "carbon neutrality" by 2060. The third generation semiconductor industry, which can improve energy conversion efficiency, is accelerating its development and is expected to become the mainstay of green economy. At present, the third generation semiconductor has extended its reach to data center, new energy vehicles and other key fields. The whole industry is getting better and better, and the future is promising.
Third generation semiconductors improve energy conversion efficiency
The third generation semiconductor represented by Gan and SiC has the advantages of high temperature resistance, high voltage resistance, high frequency and high power. Compared with silicon devices, it can reduce the energy loss by more than 50% and the equipment volume by more than 75%. It is an important development direction to help the society to save energy and reduce emissions and achieve the goal of "carbon neutralization". Under the trend of "carbon neutral", the third generation semiconductor industry, which can improve energy conversion efficiency, is accelerating its development and is expected to become the mainstay of green economy.
Gan power module market size
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Source:TrendForce, Mar 2021
As the third generation semiconductor industry is booming, many enterprises are in favor of this field and start capital layout. Recently, anser semiconductor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wentai technology and a leading power semiconductor company in the world, announced that it has reached cooperation with United Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd. (UAEs), a leading company in the domestic automotive industry. The two sides will carry out in-depth cooperation in the field of power semiconductor gallium nitride (GAN) to meet the increasing demand of new energy vehicle power supply system for technology in the future, and jointly promote the R & D and application of Gan technology in the domestic automotive market.
Relevant personnel of Anser semiconductor are optimistic about the application prospect of the third generation semiconductor in the field of new energy vehicles: "the power supply system of new energy vehicles is expected to dominate the market demand of semiconductor devices in the future, and the power density and efficiency of silicon-based Gan FET will play a key role in the application of automobile electrification."
Also recently, Robert Bosch venture capital company (rbvc), a subsidiary of Bosch group, has completed its investment in basic semiconductors. Information shows that basic semiconductor is one of the leading silicon carbide power device providers in China. A few days ago, Bosch group built an automotive semiconductor chip factory in Dresden to produce automotive sensor chips. The investment in basic semiconductors also indicates that it intends to further set foot in the third generation semiconductor field.
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In addition to capital support, domestic enterprises also make frequent progress in R & D and production of third-generation semiconductors: San'an optoelectronics's first third-generation semiconductor chip factory in Hunan has been successfully capped and is expected to be put into trial production in June this year; Luxiao technology has recently realized trial production of 6-inch silicon carbide substrate, and the company's independent research and development of silicon carbide growth furnace has realized sales, which is expected to attract downstream customers The main products of hi-tech silicon nitride have been put into production.
It is worth mentioning that Sanan optoelectronics has already launched the 6-inch SiC wafer foundry process. At the beginning of 2020, the nitriding capacity of the company has reached 2000 pieces / month, and the mass production platform of silicon carbide MOSFET devices has been completed by the end of 2020.
In terms of policy, Shanghai Lingang New Area recently released a special plan for integrated circuit industry (2021-2025). In the plan, it is proposed to promote the construction of 6-inch, 8-inch GaAs, Gan and SiC process lines, and accelerate the verification and application of compound semiconductor products for 5g, new energy vehicles and other application scenarios.
Application scenarios touch key areas of "carbon neutral"
In recent years, the third generation semiconductor industry has become a new outlet. Driven by the rebound of market demand in automobile, industry, mobile communication and other industries in the later stage of the epidemic, together with the advocacy of "carbon neutral" concept and relevant policy support, the growth momentum of the third generation semiconductor is expected to continue to rise in 2021. According to the latest forecast of trendforce, the growth of Gan power devices will be the most obvious in 2021. It is estimated that the market size will reach US $61 million this year, with an annual growth rate of 90.6%.
With the increasing market scale, the application scenarios of the third generation semiconductor are constantly expanding. At present, it has moved from small batch applications such as semiconductor lighting to a broader market including data centers, new energy vehicles and so on.
Kunshan, Secretary General of the third generation semiconductor industry technology innovation strategic alliance, affirmed the assistance provided by emerging markets to the development of the third generation semiconductor industry. He said that with the launch of 5g, new energy vehicles, energy Internet, consumer electronics, new generation display, UV and other application markets as an opportunity, the enterprises and regions that have completed the layout of the third generation of semiconductors and realized industrialization will reap the first fruits.
The third generation semiconductors used in the field of data center can greatly reduce the power consumption. Public information shows that the power consumption of a large data center computer room in a year is equivalent to that of a medium-sized city. In the case of such a huge power consumption, if the third generation semiconductor chip is used to control the power supply, it can save a lot of power compared with the silicon chip. Liu Xiang, deputy director of Kaiyuan Securities Research Institute and chief researcher of electronics, told China electronic news that with the acceleration of "carbon neutral" process, fossil energy will be gradually replaced by other electric energy sources. Whether it is power transmission or control, it needs the third generation semiconductor to achieve. "Third generation semiconductors are more efficient and can work in a wider voltage range, so the consumption is certainly very large." He said.
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Taking the typical application scenario of the third generation semiconductor new energy vehicles as an example, according to the information disclosed by Ford Motor, compared with the new energy vehicles driven by traditional silicon chips (such as IGBT), the new energy vehicles driven by chips made of the third generation semiconductor materials can reduce the energy loss by about five times.
As the representative of the third generation semiconductor, the application of silicon carbide technology is closely related to the improvement of vehicle driving range. The performance of the third generation semiconductor materials in improving energy efficiency, miniaturization of power supply system, and improving voltage resistance has reached a higher level than that of silicon devices. Chen Hong, senior hardware expert of IPU in Xiaopeng automotive powertrain center, said that compared with silicon-based power semiconductor, the third generation semiconductor silicon carbide MOSFET has the characteristics of high temperature resistance, low power consumption and high voltage resistance. After adopting silicon carbide technology, the efficiency of motor inverter can be improved by about 4%, and the vehicle range will be increased by about 7%.
At present, the third-generation semiconductor's tentacles extend to 5g, new energy vehicles and other key markets. Liu Xiang believes that the cultivation of SiC raw material, long crystal, is expected to become a breakthrough in the domestic third-generation semiconductor market.
It is difficult to produce long crystal. The source of long crystal, crystal seed, is difficult to obtain and requires high purity. In addition, the requirements of temperature and process are very high, and the production time is also relatively long. It takes two weeks for silicon carbide to grow a single crystal rod, but the result may be only 3 cm, which is very difficult for mass production. Based on this, Liu Xiang believes that it is necessary for China to pay more attention to the cultivation of long crystals.
In addition to the cultivation of long crystal, how to break the monopoly of foreign enterprises on silicon carbide market is also one of the problems to be solved. Zhou Zhenhong, Chief Strategic Officer of Anxin fund, said that at the present stage, the rapidly developing silicon carbide material market is monopolized by international giants, and the domestic silicon carbide substrate only accounts for 2.2% of the global market. Wang Wenyin, member of the National Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference, also pointed out that at present, most of the high-end products in the domestic third-generation semiconductor industry are imported, and the advanced global giants have established their own circle of friends and moat.
In view of how to break the monopoly of foreign enterprises on the silicon carbide market, Zhang Yuming, Professor of Xi'an University of Electronic Science and technology, said that China still needs to improve the size and quality of silicon carbide wafers, strengthen the gate interface control technology of manufacturing process, and further improve the yield.

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