The Growth of Wide Bandgap Technology in Industrial Power Conversion

Demand for robust and reliable systems with reduced size and increased efficiencies means that power supply designers are seeking new technologies to support increased switching speeds, higher power densities, extended voltage and power ranges, and operation over wider temperature ranges. Wide bandgap silicon carbide and gallium nitride semiconductors are an attractive choice for addressing these requirements. Broad adoption of wide bandgap technology has been limited by the availability of higher voltage devices, stable and reliable solutions coming from multiple sources, and general availability given competing demands in emerging markets like Electric Vehicles. Having championed their use in radio frequency and direct-current plasma generators for semiconductor wafer fabrication and select electrosurgical applications for many years, we are now seeing new opportunities for widespread adoption of wide bandgap technology for broader industrial power applications, including expanded uses in merchant power supplies for datacenter computing, telecom and lighting applications. This article traces the journey from early adoption in specialized precision applications that have already benefited from wide bandgap device adoption in higher frequency and power domains through more recent adoption of the technology in conventional merchant power supply applications.