Market Insights

WBG Semiconductors to Take Spotlight at Power Electronics Conference

November 22, 2019 by Jürgen Hübner

Power electronics is rapidly moving to wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductors as the gateways to more efficient designs for a host of high growth applications.

The power electronics community will gather in Munich in December to network with peers, learn from experts, and take a deep dive into designing with wide-bandgap power devices.

Power electronics is rapidly moving to wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductors as the gateways to more efficient designs for a host of high growth applications. WBG materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) enable greater power efficiency while reducing the size, weight, and overall cost of power solutions.

 

 

The lineup of technical papers slated to be presented at the Power Electronics Conference, which will convene here early next month, is a testament to WBG semiconductors’ ascendance. The technical conference will take place on December 3. A half-day networking event is scheduled for December 2.

Market analysts foresee continued growth in the market for power components using WBG materials, namely SiC and GaN. Driven by the demand for power supplies, inverters for photovoltaics, and hybrid and electric vehicles, the market for SiC- and GaN-based power components is expected to exceed US$10 billion in 2027.

The prospects for strong growth in SiC devices are high, stimulated by increasing sales of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. Market penetration is widening, with Schottky diodes, MOSFETs, JFETs and other discrete SiC devices already seen in DC/DC automotive converters (where high volumes have already been achieved) and on-board battery chargers.

 

Network with industry experts

At the networking event on Dec. 2, conference-goers will have the opportunity to meet industry experts, gather information, share knowledge, network with peers, and find solutions for their business challenges. The event will start at 2:00 p.m. with presentations on SiC and GaN prospects and challenges for current and future applications, followed by a panel discussion on “SiC versus GaN,” moderated by Bodo Arlt, editor-in-chief of Bodo’s Power Systems. An evening reception and get-together will provide further opportunities for exchanging ideas with others in the power community.

Technical conference Wide-bandgap semiconductors are transforming power electronics designs across many applications, including data centers, renewable energy, and automotive systems. The full-day technical conference on Dec. 3 will explain why, how, and where this transformation is happening. Conference attendees will gain the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions on which wide-bandgap materials, platforms, and devices can best serve their requirements in current or upcoming designs.

 

Power Conference attendees take notes at a presentation in 2018.

 

These are among the technical papers that will be presented at the conference:

  • SiC Solutions for Industrial and Automotive Applications
  • Optimized Power Module Packages for SiC and Its Applications
  • Software Configurable Gate Driver Ecosystem — Reducing Time to Market
  • Simplify Your Driver — Benefit of the Gate Driver
  • GaN — Mature Discrete, Passives and Measurement
  • Design Skills of Gapped Ferrite Materials for Inductor and LLC Transformer
  • Gallium Nitride in Cars: 48-V – 12-V DC/DC Conversion and LiDAR
  • SiC — Mature Discrete, Passives and Measurement
  • Optimized for Performance and Price, Let’s Go GaNFast
  • Test Results for Packaging and Gate Driver Solutions
  • Reliable Use of GaN Devices for a Broad Range of Applications
  • Enabling and Expanding Broader Power Markets with Silicon Carbide
  • Designing an Integrated Motor Drive with GaN
  • Introduction of Ultra-Low RDS(on) Devices
  • GaN takes its place as the technology of choice for high volume power ICs
  • Progress on SiC — Understanding Figure of Merit and ApplicationSpecific Needs
  • Modules for Electric Traction
  • Higher Voltage, Higher Power, Market Expansion: The Evolution of GaN
  • Development of SiC Power Devices Technology
  • GaN-on-Silicon: From Switches to Intelligent Power Solutions to Boost Performance
  • Control Architecture Unleashes the Full Potential of Silicon Carbide
  • High Efficiency, Compact On-Board Chargers for Industrial Electric Vehicles
  • Isolated Smart Gate Driver for SiC MOSFET Control
  • Analysis of PCB Parasitic Effects in a Vienna Rectifier for an EV Battery Charge

The conference will take place at the Hilton, Munich Airport.

 

About the Author

Jürgen Hübner is a publisher, editor, product manager at JH and also a publisher at ICC Media.