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SiC Chips: The Solution to the Semiconductor Shortage

Semiconductors are integral to the functioning of most modern technology. From personal electronics to vehicles, refrigerators to LED light fixtures.

However, shortage in chips ensued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting with an increasing demand for work-from-home technologies and entertainment electronics, supply chain and labor shortages, and even extreme events such as a factory fire in Japan’s Renesas Electronics facility and power plant cuts due to Texas’ unprecedented 2021 snowstorm, the industry’s manufacturing fell behind its demand.

From the Ford F-150 pick-up truck to the Sony PlayStation 5, the chip shortage has created big problems for manufacturers across multiple industries. According to one report (from December 2021 by consulting firm AlixPartners), the shortage for the automotive industry alone will cost the sector a $210 billion USD loss.

To address this shortage, manufacturers have been looking at silicon carbide (SiC) as an alternative to silicon semiconductors. SiC devices operate at higher temperatures and frequencies than silicon, and although they are slightly more expensive, they actually reduce the overall system cost due to operating at higher efficiencies.

This has made SiC particularly attractive to manufacturers of battery electric vehicles, amongst others. Today, just over two years after the beginning of the pandemic, the demand for SiC automotive chips is largely being bolstered by the huge demand for electric vehicles (EVs), which grew 108% in 2021.

Now being powered by the demand for more efficient chip devices, semiconductor manufacturers are bolstering their SiC production capabilities to meet the market requirements for applications in power electronics.

This provides an excellent development opportunity for the ceramics industry, which will play a pivotal role in providing a solution to a global issue.

At Ceramics Expo 2022, the conference will look at the role of ceramics as an enabling material in power electronics. For your chance to gain exclusive insights into this topic and more, you can register for the free-to-attend event here.