SiC Power Device Evolution Opening a New Era in Power Electronics

A new era in power electronics has been just opened by commercial introduction of silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs in a variety of power electronic systems such as power supplies, renewable energy, transportation, heating, robotics, and electric utility transmission/distribution. The utilization of SiC power devices in these systems can enable significant energy saving because of much lower power-loss devices compared to conventional silicon (Si) power devices. In this paper the progress of SiC power transistors is presented in comparison with Si MOSFETs and IGBTs.