Abstract
FROM OPTOELECTRONICS TO POWER ELECTRONICS...
GaN is an already well implanted semiconductor technology, widely diffused in
the LED optoelectronics industry. For about 10 years, GaN devices have also
been developed for RF wireless applications where they can replace Silicon
transistors in some selected systems. That incursion in the RF field has open
the door to the power switching capability in the lower frequency range and
thus to the power electronic applications.
Compared to Silicon, GaN exhibits largely better figures for most of the key
specifications: Electric field, energy gap, electron mobility and melting
point. Intrinsically, GaN could offer better performance than Silicon in terms
of: breakdown voltage, switching frequency and Overall systems efficiency.
A $16.6B 2010 TAM AND SOME KEY PROMISING APPLICATIONS
GaN technology is maturing and now offers transistor, diode and even IC' s
compatible with Power Electronic expectations, at least in the 0-600V range.
Looking at Total Accessible Market, a $16.6b market size is envisioned,
split in:
- Power IC s
- Power Discretes
- Power Modules
Now, considering the GaN current state-of-the-art, we assume the most
promising applications for Nitride Semiconductors would be:
- IT and consumer
- Automotive
- Industry: PV inverters, UPS and motor control
THAT VERY COST-DRIVEN TARGET MAKE GAN-ON-SI THE ONLY SOLUTION AT SHORT TERM
About 67 % of Power Electronics market is looking at 0-900V voltage range,
mostly made of cost-driven consumer and IT applications. To address these
segments require a high-volume manufacturing capability as well as a very
aggressive market price positioning. Thus, the technical solution involving
expensive bulk-GaN substrates are not compatible with market requirements.
GaN-on-Si appears as the most cost-effective setup to reach at least the
0-900V applications. It has been calculated that GaN-on-Si HEMT could be 50%
cheaper than the same SiC device. However, as of today state-of-the-art, it
remains twice and even 3 times more expensive than the similar silicon device.
The choice to integrate GaN instead of Silicon will be made at system level,
while calculating the overall module cost. Implementing GaN will allow
reducing:
- Thermal management costs (fewer fans, smaller heat-sink...)
- RF filtering costs (higher switching frequency will need small capacitors
and inductances)
- Overall housing cost (30% to 50% overall module size shrinking is expected)
So we assume GaN-on-Si is the preferred solution to enhance GaN market
penetration over the power electronics industry.
GAN POWER DEVICES: A 350M MA RKET SIZE IN 2015
GaN power electronics market has just started in 2010 along with the
announcements of IR and EPC Corp. about their first products introduction. To
now, the maximum commercially available Vb is of 200V that partially covers
the IT and consumer segments.
In their roadmap, these 2 companies and the other possible new incomers
(MicroGaN, Furukawa, GaN Systems, Panasonic, Sanken, Toshiba and so on...) are
announcing 600V and even 900V devices in a very short time. Such an increase
in the Vb range, will allow GaN to step by step enter into the industrial and
automotive segments.
Taking into account the minimum qualification period needed for new technology
implementation, we do forecast that the inflexion point for GaN market ramp-up
will occur early 2012, leading to a $50M+ market size by 2013 and ~$350M by
2015.
In 2015, GaN device business should be equally split between IC' s, discretes
and modules. Based on the expected price erosion of the GaN-on-Si 6”
epiwafers over the time, the GaN substrate market should exceed $100M in 2015.
This report provides a complete analysis of the GaN device and substrate
industry in the power electronics field along with key market metrics. It
provides company involvement as well as technology state-of-theart. In
addition, an extensive review of the possible substrates for GaN is provided,
offering the most complete view of the Power GaN industry available to date.
INDEX OF COMPANIES MENTIONED IN THE REPORT:
AmberWave, Ammono Sp, Applied Materials, AZZ URRO Semiconductors, BluGlass,
Cermet, Cotopaxi Materials LLC , Covalent Materials, Efficient Power
Conversion Corp, EpiGaN, Episil, Freescale, Fuji Electric, Fujitsu
Electronics, Furukawa Electric, GaN Systems, Goldeneye Inc., Group4 Lab,
Hitachi Cable, HK UST , III -V Lab, IMEC , International Rectifier, IQE, Kyma
Technologies, LumiLOG , MicroGaN, Micron Technology, Mitsubishi Chemical,
NanoGaN, NEC , Nitronex, NTT , Oxford Instruments / TDI , Panasonic, Picogiga
- SOITEC , Powdec, Renesas, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Samsung-Corning,
Sanken Electric, Soraa Inc., sp3 Diamond Technology, STM icro, Sumitomo
Electric SEI , TopGaN, Toshiba, Toyota, Toyota R&D Lab, Ultratech, UMS ,
Velox, Vishay
BIO
Philippe ROUSSEL, Ph.D holds a Ph-D in Integrated Electronics Systems
from the National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) in LYON.
He joined Yole Devéloppement in 1998 and is senior manager of the Compound
Semiconductors technology & economical market analysis department.
Table of Contents
Glossary
Executive Summary
- GaN is looking to a $16.6b power electronics market size
- Is GaN-on-Si the only enabling solution?
- GaN power devices: a $350M in 2015
- 2009-2015 market size for GaN devices in power application, split by
device type
- 2009-2015 market size for GaN devices in power application, split by
application
- 2009-2015 market size and volume for 6” GaN-on-Si epi-wafer, split
by application
Overall Power Electronics Market
- Power Devices definition
- Definition of power modules and IPM : Monolithic or Hybrid
- Power Electronics market size 2006-2015, split by device type
- Power Electronics market size: focus on discrete devices, split by type
- Power device market 2009 sales Regional breakdown 2009-2012
- Power Electronics value-chain analysis: wafer, device, system
- Wafer (Si + SOI ) diameter evolution in Power Electronics
- Market applicative segment definition and content
- Market segmentation in Power Electronics
- Device revenues distributed by Voltage range
- Power devices market size, split by voltage range
- A vision of Power Electronics market in 2015...
GaN power electronics market segmentation
- Possible applications for GaN devices in power electronics
- Power range of the targeted applications
- Reasons for GaN added values
- GaN use, expected improvements in power conversion
- Positioning of the GaN devices in the power electronics
- Estimated accessible markets, growth rate, and time to market
- GaN vs. SiC SWOT analysis
- GaN vs. SiC vs. Si: Figure-of-merit
GaN industry involvement
- Top-15 Power Semiconductor involvement in GaN
- Industrial GaN supply-chain in North America
- Industrial GaN supply-chain in Europe
- Industrial GaN supply-chain in Asia
- European R&D programs:
- G2REC :LAST -POWER E3Car MORG aN IMEC Industrial Affiliation Program
- Fuji Electric and Furukawa to partner on GaN power devices
- Furukawa teams-up with Powdec on GaN power electronics
- Some recent strategies and choices for power devices technology
GaN power device developments
- Overview of on-going initiatives in GaN-based power devices
- Different approaches for GaN Schottky diodes design: Planar or Mesa
- Theoretical limit of GaN Schottky diode voltage breakdown in function of
epi thickness
- Impact on substrate choice
- GaN devices description:
- 1. Furukawa Electric
- 2. Fujitsu
- 3. NEC
- 4. Panasonic
- 5. Sumitomo Electric SEI
- 6. Toyota R&D Lab
- 7. Sanken Electric
- 8. Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HK UST )
- 9. Monolithic integration of GaN & CMOS
- 10. International Rectifier GaNpowIR "!: iP2010 & iP2011 specs.
- 11. Reverse engineering of Efficient Power Conversion
- 12. Corp., EPC 10xx series
- 13. EPC 10xx series cross sections
- 14. EPC Corp. GaN transistor die-size as a function of Vb and Id
- 15. EPC Corp. GaN transistor power and current density
- GaN product introduction roadmap
GaN devices manufacturing cost analysis
- GaN/Si FET cost breakdown model projection: From 6” wafer to
200V/12A packaged device
- Manufacturing price of a 200V/12A transistor: Comparison Si, GaN & SiC
- GaN transistor specs & market price analysis.
- Comparison with Silicon MOS FET
GaN substrate current developments
- Different substrates for GaN epitaxy “Direct growth or buffer
approach”
- Different substrates for GaN epitaxy “Composite substrates: wafer
bonding approach”
- Picogiga - SOITEC (F)
- AmberWave (US)
- BluGlass
- IMEC (B)
- AZZURRO Semiconductors (GE )
- Covalent Materials (J)
- Nitronex (US)
- Oxford Instruments / TDI (US)
- Hitachi Cable (J)
- Cermet (US)
- SOD : Silicon On Diamond
- Group4 Lab (US)
- sp3 Diamond Technology (US)
- Bulk GaN: Mass-market introduction in various applications
- Bulk GaN Specifications: production status
- Bulk GaN Specifications: R&D status
- Bulk GaN 2” FS & ELO GaN Substrates
- Bulk GaN 2007-2015 market price
- GaN/xx epiwafer expected specs
- GaN/xx epiwafer usage
- Technical feasibility and manufacturing cost
- Risk analysis of GaN possible competing technologies
Focus on Power Supply & Power Factor Corrector Market
- PFC market main metrics
- GaN main added-value in PFC circuits
- PFC Efficiency Comparison (Si, SiC and GaN)
- TOP 15 OEM Power Supply Manufacturers and related involvement in SiC & GaN
- Main market requirements for PFC applications bio
- Comparison of Si, SiC and GaN Diode Cost in a PFC Module
Focus on EV/HEV Market
- Types and Availability: Micro, Mild, Full and plug in Hybrid
- Principles and Functionalities
- EV, HEV & FCV: Projection of market shares over ICE to 2019
- Sales projection to 2019 in million units
- Why GaN in Cars?
- Current Device Technologies in Use
- 2 Key Power Modules: DC -DC boost converter and DC -AC inverter
- Expected Improvements of GaN Introduction in HE V
- The TOP 5 Key Requirements for power transistors in HE V
- Added Value Analysis of GaN Electronics for HE V: Fuel consumption and
money savings
- HEV Inverter Module Cost Breakdown
- Case study: Silicon vs. GaN HEV inverter cost breakdown
- Sales Projection for GaN devices in EV/HEV Inverters
- 6” GaN wafer volume for EV/HE V
Focus on inverters for Solar Panel
- Solar Market Segmentation
- Installed Base and Annual Demand of PV in MWto 2019
- Inverter Modules Key Parameters
- Cost Breakdown of a Solar Installation and Inverter Cost in $/kW
- Typical Cost Breakdown of a Single String Inverter For residential
application
- Trends in PV Voltage
- Electronic Devices in PV Inverters
- GaN device Market for PV Inverters
- % of GaN market penetration over Si and related size
- GaN device Market for PV Inverters
- 6” equiv. GaN substrate market volume (units)
Focus on UPS market
- Global UPS market: Market value, main uses and worldwide consumption
- UPS products segments
- Projection of world UPS market to 2015, split by power range
- UPS vendors market shares
- 2009-2015 Silicon and GaN device market forecasts in UPS applications
- 2009-2015 GaN 6” wafer demand in UPS applications
- GaN chances of success in the UPS segment
Focus on Motor AC Drive
- Applications
- Motor Drive History
- Market Generalities
- Market as a Function of Power Range 2009-2015 projection
- Total Accessible Market volume
- Market shares
- AC Drives electronic architecture
- Silicon and GaN Device Market Value in AC Drive Applications 2009-2015
- GaN 6” substrate market volume for Motor AC Drive Applications
Conclusions
- Total accessible market for GaN in AC drives
