Future technology trends

Power devices today are the technology enabling future development of power converters and systems. They are responsible for precisely controlling electrical energy from the source to the load according the load demand, at high efficiency and with outstanding reliability. The availability of power semiconductor devices using silicon carbide and gallium nitride technology have pushed integration density and efficiency to a new level beyond the capability of silicon devices by allowing for higher switching frequencies. For both wide band-gap materials, the state-of-the-art in device topologies, electrical properties and remaining technological challenges are reviewed. This includes vertical VDMOS transistors and junction barrier Schottky diodes using 4H-SiC and lateral GaN HEMTs. Moreover, progress toward even higher performance characteristics using novel device designs and considerations affecting fast switching are presented. A comparison of the different devices and their application concludes this chapter.