Silicon carbide (SIC) is a kind of widely used man-made material. Due to its special properties such as high hardness, high temperature resistance, wear resistance, heat shock resistance, corrosion resistance, good conductivity, thermal conductivity and electromagnetic wave absorption, it is widely used in metallurgy, chemical industry, ceramics, aerospace and other industrial sectors, except as abrasive. The application of silicon carbide in new energy vehicles mainly includes charging module, vehicle charger, compressor, converter, motor drive and other components.
In the new energy vehicle, the power device is the main part of the electric drive system, which plays a leading role in its efficiency, power density and reliability. At present, the electric drive part of new energy vehicles is mainly composed of silicon-based power devices. With the development of electric vehicles, higher requirements are put forward for miniaturization and lightweight of electric drive.
There is a large demand for power devices for new energy vehicles
In power device products, MOSFET and IGBT are the core of automotive electronics. MOSFET products are the most widely used products in the power device market, accounting for 35.4% of the power semiconductor discrete device market; IGBT is the fastest growing product in the power device market, accounting for 25% of the total market. As an essential semiconductor device for new energy vehicles, downstream demand is quite strong.
Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles use more power devices. According to the analysis, the installed value of power semiconductors in traditional diesel locomotives is $71, accounting for 21% of the total value of vehicle semiconductors; for hybrid vehicles, the value of power semiconductors added on the basis of traditional internal combustion vehicles is $354, accounting for 76% of the total value; for pure electric vehicles, the value of power semiconductors is $387, accounting for 55% of the total value of vehicle semiconductors.
The sales volume of new energy vehicles is growing rapidly, and the downstream market demand is considerable. In 2007, the total production of domestic new energy vehicles was 2179, while in 2017, the domestic production has reached 819991, with an annual compound growth rate of 93%, and the year-on-year growth was stable at more than 50%. The sales volume of new energy vehicles increased 392 times from 15736 in 2011 to 6185699 in 2018.
Charging post is an essential equipment for new energy vehicles. The power devices for charging post are mainly MOSFET chips and IGBT chips. It is reported that by 2020, the number of domestic charging and replacing power stations will reach 12000, and the number of charging piles will reach 4.5 million.
SiC wafers are in short supply, and large international companies are adding codes one after another
The booming market demand drives SiC wafer manufacturers to add more codes. Longteng Semiconductor Co., Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise dedicated to the R & D, production, sales and service of new power semiconductor devices. The company has more than 100 core technology patents, formulated the national industry standard for super junction power MOSFET (Standard No.: SJ / T 9014.8.2-2018), and operated the school enterprise joint new research and development platform (Jiaotong University Longteng advanced power semiconductor technology research institute). The company has established a first-class device testing laboratory and product reliability engineering center, and focuses on providing efficient, reliable and safe power devices and high cost-effective system solutions. The company has formed a complete power device product series of high-voltage super junction power MOSFET, insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), shielded gate groove power MOSFET, low-voltage groove power MOSFET, high-voltage plane power MOSFET and power module. The products have been widely used in the fields of consumption (TV board power supply, charger, adapter, LED driving power supply), industry (computer and server power supply, communication power supply), automobile (charging pile, vehicle power supply), etc.
Shenzhen JINGMAO Micro Technology Co., Ltd. (official website: www.jmwsemi. Com), as a top value-added solution provider authorized by Longteng semiconductor, provides electronic enterprises with various services such as electronic component supply, solution and technical support, such as MOSFET and IGBT. It has set up marketing sites and warehousing services in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and has become the preferred cooperation of many well-known end customers in China Partner. In addition, the company also provides customers with six service systems, including cost reduction and delivery time reduction, supply of short components, inventory resale optimization, BOM allocation, PCBA processing, technical support, etc. The company's product quality and service in the industry has established a high-quality reputation and reputation, product marketing in Greater China, Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States and other global markets, has become a well-known semiconductor solution provider in the industry.
In early 2019, Cree spun off its lighting business and focused on the compound semiconductor RF and power application market to meet the market demand of 5g communication and new energy vehicles. In the same year, it announced to spend $1 billion to expand the production capacity of silicon carbide.
In recent years, Japan's Showa Electric has expanded the production of silicon carbide wafers for three times. Roma also announced to invest 60 billion yen (about US $560 million) before March 2026, increasing the capacity of SiC Power Semiconductors by 16 times. Germany's x-fab, Taiwan's global crystal, Jiajing and Hanlei have also invested in new silicon carbide production lines.
In order to strengthen the self-made rate of key semiconductor materials, St completed the overall acquisition of norstel, a Swedish silicon wafer manufacturer, in 2019. SK silk also announced that it would purchase DuPont's silicon carbide wafer business in the United States for us $450 million.
It is worth mentioning that due to the high technical and capital threshold of SiC, and the slow growth and unstable quality of single crystal at present, the yield of SiC wafer produced is not high and the cost is relatively high, and the new SiC wafer manufacturers are generally in a state of loss.
The United States, Japan and Europe started early in the field of SiC. The 6-inch silicon carbide substrate has been mass produced and 8-inch silicon carbide substrate has been successfully developed. Cree alone has occupied about 40% of the SiC substrate market.
According to the insiders, the main domestic SiC substrate manufacturers are tiankeheda, Hebei Tongguang, Shandong Tianyue, Zhongke energy saving, etc. the products are mainly 4 inches, 6 inches are still in the critical stage, and the quality is relatively weak. In terms of epitaxy, domestic manufacturers mainly include Dongguan Tianyu and hantiancheng. Some companies have been able to provide 4-inch and 6-inch silicon carbide epitaxial wafers. The epitaxial wafers for 1700V and below devices have been relatively mature, but the mass production technology of high-quality thick epitaxial wafers is mainly possessed by a few foreign enterprises such as Cree, Zhaohe electric, etc.
Domestic power semiconductor breakthrough dawn
IGBT is the core device of motor control system and charging pile of new energy vehicle, and the growth of new energy vehicle market will certainly drive the development of power semiconductor. Although China is the world's largest consumer of semiconductors, the market demand of semiconductors accounts for about 40% of the global market, but the domestic rate of all kinds of semiconductor devices and chips is very low.
The products of power semiconductor enterprises in mainland China are mainly concentrated in the middle and low-end fields. The localization rate of all kinds of power semiconductor devices and power IC is less than 50%, and there is a huge space for import to replace them. At present, the mainstream third generation semiconductor materials in China are silicon carbide and silicon nitride, the former is mainly used in high-voltage occasions such as smart grid, rail transit, etc.; the latter is more widely used in high-frequency fields such as 5g communication.
In terms of silicon carbide, domestic companies have gradually formed a complete industrial chain, which can produce a new generation of silicon carbide power semiconductors; in terms of gallium nitride materials, the international market is also in the initial stage of research, and the market pattern is still unclear, but many domestic universities, research institutions and companies have conducted a lot of research, with many patented technologies.
According to relevant data, by the end of 2018, the largest number of gallium nitride patents in the world are owned by international manufacturers such as Kerui and Toshiba, but Chinese enterprises have also occupied a place.