Forget silicon's reign—the wide bandgap semiconductor revolution, supercharged by gallium nitride and silicon carbide, has already vaulted from niche labs to a multi-billion-dollar market, with explosive growth and staggering industry investments signaling a complete power electronics transformation.
Key Takeaways
- Global SiC power device market revenue reached $2.12 billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 32.4% from 2017-2022
- GaN power device market size was $0.74 billion in 2022, expected to reach $4.2 billion by 2028 at CAGR 33.1%
- Combined GaN and SiC wide bandgap semiconductor market projected to exceed $15 billion by 2030
- SiC substrate production capacity worldwide 1.2 million 6-inch equivalents in 2023
- Wolfspeed announced 200mm SiC fab with $5B investment, capacity for 30% of global 200mm SiC wafers by 2027
- China SiC wafer production 40% of global in 2023, led by SICC with 500k 6-inch wafers/year
- SiC inverters in EVs hold 35% market share in premium segment 2023
- GaN chargers >65W penetration 15% in consumer electronics 2023
- SiC used in 50% of new solar inverters >100kW in 2023
- GaN transistors switching frequency 10x Si in SMPS 2023 benchmarks
- SiC MOSFET on-resistance 50% lower than Si IGBT at 900V 2023
- GaN HEMT breakdown voltage >600V with Rdson <50mΩ 2023 state-of-art
- Wolfspeed invested $2B in SiC expansion 2023
- Infineon acquired SiC assets from GlobalWafers for $300M 2023
- STMicroelectronics $2B SiC ecosystem with ST Italy fab 2023
The SiC and GaN wide bandgap semiconductor markets are rapidly expanding, fueled by electric vehicles.
Applications & End-Markets
- SiC inverters in EVs hold 35% market share in premium segment 2023
- GaN chargers >65W penetration 15% in consumer electronics 2023
- SiC used in 50% of new solar inverters >100kW in 2023
- GaN RF devices in 5G base stations 40% adoption rate 2023
- Tesla Model 3/Y SiC inverter efficiency 98.5%, saving 5% energy vs Si
- GaN in laptop chargers market share 25% in 2023
- SiC traction inverters in BEVs projected 70% by 2028, 30% in 2023
- GaN fast chargers (>100W) 20% of smartphone market 2023
- Industrial motor drives SiC penetration 12% in 2023
- GaN in data center PSUs 18% share 2023
- SiC diodes in PFC stages 55% in premium EVs 2023
- GaN Lidar drivers in ADAS 35% adoption 2023
- Renewable energy SiC market 25% of total power semis 2023
- GaN in telecom infrastructure 28% power supply share 2023
- SiC in rail traction 40% Europe 2023
- Consumer GaN adapters shipments 500M units 2023
- UPS systems SiC modules 15% penetration 2023
- GaN in satellite power systems 60% share 2023
- SiC Schottky diodes market 45% automotive 2023
- GaN in EVs OBC 25% penetration 2023
- SiC solar MLPS efficiency gain 3% vs Si 2023
- GaN Doherty PAs 50% 5G AAU market 2023
- Porsche Taycan SiC inverter 800V system 2023
- GaN TV backlight drivers 40% premium TVs 2023
- SiC in wind turbine converters 20% >5MW 2023
- GaN USB-C PD adapters 65W+ 30% market 2023
- Industrial robotics SiC drives 18% 2023
- GaN server PSUs 500kW racks 22% 2023
- SiC fast EV DC chargers 350kW+ 65% 2023
- GaN in drones motor controllers 45% 2023
- ESS grid storage SiC inverters 30% 2023
- GaN audio amps Class-D 35% high-end 2023
- SiC welding inverters 25% pro market 2023
- GaN radar T/R modules 55% defense 2023
- SiC traction modules rail 45% Asia 2023
- GaN medical imaging PSUs 28% 2023
Applications & End-Markets Interpretation
While silicon carbide is busy revolutionizing the electric highway and sun-powered grids with stoic efficiency, gallium nitride is stealthily conducting a symphony of faster, smaller, and more powerful charges from your pocket to the data center, proving that the future of power is a quiet coup staged by two very wide-bandgap materials.
Companies & Investments
- Wolfspeed invested $2B in SiC expansion 2023
- Infineon acquired SiC assets from GlobalWafers for $300M 2023
- STMicroelectronics $2B SiC ecosystem with ST Italy fab 2023
- ON Semi $1B SiC investment for Hamburg fab 2023
- Navitas Semiconductor raised $250M for GaN production 2023
- ROHM $300M SiC plant in Japan 2023
- EPC Space $100M GaN rad-hard contracts 2023
- Coherent (II-VI) $1B SiC materials capex 2023
- GaN Systems acquired by Infineon for $830M 2023
- Vishay Intertechnology $150M SiC expansion 2023
- Chinese firm SICC $500M 8-inch SiC line 2023
- Power Integrations $50M GaN IC investment 2023
- Mitsubishi Electric $200M SiC module plant 2023
- Qorvo GaN RF revenue $1.2B 2023
- Transphorm $50M Series E for GaN 2023
- SiC market capex total $10B across top 10 firms 2023
- Renesas $1.5B SiC production ramp 2023
- MACOM $200M GaN expansion 2023
- GlobalWafers $1B SiC substrate investment 2023
- Infineon CoolSiC revenue $500M FY2023
- STMicroelectronics SiC sales €1B 2023 target met
- ON Semiconductor SiC growth 80% YoY 2023
- ROHM SiC MOSFET shipments doubled 2023
- Navitas NVDA stock up 150% GaN ramp 2023
- Wolfspeed market cap $10B peak 2023
Companies & Investments Interpretation
Amid a semiconductor gold rush with a combined $10 billion staked in 2023, Silicon Carbide is clearly the new silicon while Gallium Nitride quietly plots its gallant takeover.
Market Size & Forecasts
- Global SiC power device market revenue reached $2.12 billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 32.4% from 2017-2022
- GaN power device market size was $0.74 billion in 2022, expected to reach $4.2 billion by 2028 at CAGR 33.1%
- Combined GaN and SiC wide bandgap semiconductor market projected to exceed $15 billion by 2030
- SiC wafer market revenue hit $1.5 billion in 2023, with 8-inch wafers driving 45% growth
- GaN RF market valued at $1.9 billion in 2023, forecasted CAGR 12.5% to 2030
- EV SiC power semiconductor demand expected to account for 60% of total SiC market by 2028
- Global GaN transistor market size $1.2 billion in 2022, projected $5.8 billion by 2030, CAGR 21.8%
- SiC module market revenue $1.8 billion in 2023, growing to $11.5 billion by 2032
- GaN-on-Si market share in power devices reached 25% in 2023
- Total wide bandgap (GaN+SiC) market $4.5 billion in 2023, 35% YoY growth
- Market Size & Forecasts: SiC power semiconductor market expected to grow from $2.5B in 2024 to $12B by 2030, CAGR 30%
- GaN discrete device shipments 1.2 billion units in 2023, up 40% YoY
- Wide Bandgap (WBG) revenue share in power devices 8% in 2023, projected 25% by 2030
- SiC EV charger market $800M in 2023, CAGR 45% to 2030
- RF GaN market $2.1B in 2023, 15% CAGR forecast
- Asia-Pacific SiC market 55% global share 2023
- GaN power ICs market $0.5B 2023, to $3B by 2029
- SiC discrete devices 70% of SiC revenue 2023
- GaN systems market for telecom $600M 2023
- Total WBG capex $12B planned 2024-2028
- Market Size & Forecasts: SiC module shipments 1.5M units 2023, up 50%
Market Size & Forecasts Interpretation
The galloping ascent of SiC and GaN semiconductors suggests we've collectively decided that the future prefers to run cool, fast, and at a blistering annual rate of roughly 30%.
Production & Supply Chain
- SiC substrate production capacity worldwide 1.2 million 6-inch equivalents in 2023
- Wolfspeed announced 200mm SiC fab with $5B investment, capacity for 30% of global 200mm SiC wafers by 2027
- China SiC wafer production 40% of global in 2023, led by SICC with 500k 6-inch wafers/year
- Global GaN epiwafer capacity 1.5 million 6-inch wafers in 2023, 50% in Taiwan
- STMicroelectronics SiC production ramped to 20% of power discrete capacity in 2023
- II-VI (Coherent) SiC materials capacity expansion to 1 million 6-inch wafers by 2025
- GaN Systems fab in Canada produces 1 million discrete devices/month in 2023
- Global SiC device fab capacity utilization 85% in Q4 2023 due to EV demand
- Infineon SiC wafer consumption 300k 6-inch equivalents in 2023
- EPC GaN fab yield >95% for enhancement-mode devices in 2023
- SiC raw material (petroleum coke) supply chain disruptions caused 15% price hike in 2023
- Navitas GaN IC production scaled to 10M units/quarter in 2023
- Global 8-inch SiC wafer production reached 10% of total in 2023
- Cree/Wolfspeed SiC boule growth capacity 50% of world in 2023
- GaN HEMT wafer starts 2.5 million 6-inch in Asia-Pacific 2023
- SiC power device lead time extended to 50 weeks in 2023
- ON Semiconductor SiC capacity doubled to 150k wafers/year in 2023
- Sumitomo Electric SiC wafer defect density <0.5/cm² for 6-inch in 2023
- Global GaN foundry capacity 70% utilized for power apps in 2023
- ROHM SiC MOSFET production 5 million units/year in 2023
- SiC 1500V devices market emerging $100M 2023
- Global 200mm SiC capacity 50k wafers/year 2023 pilot
- Taiwan GaN capacity 60% world total 2023
- SiC substrate pricing $1,200 per 6-inch 2023 average
- UnitedSiC (Qorvo) production 2M devices/month 2023
- BASiC Semiconductor China GaN line 100k wafers/year 2023
- SiC polytype purity 99.999% achieved 2023
- GaN-on-GaN capacity limited to 10% total 2023
- Europe SiC fab investments $3B 2023 total
- SiC trench MOSFET yield 80% 6-inch 2023
- GaN foundry utilization 90% power segment 2023
- Wolfspeed SiC device revenue $1B 2023
- SiC chemical vapor deposition capacity doubled China 2023
- Innoscience GaN BCD process 8-inch 300k wafers/year 2023
- SiC wafer bow <5um 6-inch standard 2023
Production & Supply Chain Interpretation
While SiC and GaN industries are racing towards an electrified future—with massive expansions, national pride projects, and record utilizations—the sobering constraints of material purity, yield, and even petroleum coke supply reveal this high-stakes game is still being played on a knife's edge.
Technology & Performance
- GaN transistors switching frequency 10x Si in SMPS 2023 benchmarks
- SiC MOSFET on-resistance 50% lower than Si IGBT at 900V 2023
- GaN HEMT breakdown voltage >600V with Rdson <50mΩ 2023 state-of-art
- SiC 4H polytype defect density reduced to 0.2/cm² in 2023
- GaN e-mode devices figure-of-merit 3x Si in 100-650V range 2023
- SiC thermal conductivity 3.7 W/cmK vs 1.5 for Si 2023
- GaN cascode efficiency 99% at 48V-12V conversion 2023
- SiC gate oxide reliability >10 years at 175C 2023 tests
- GaN RF PA efficiency 70% at 5G mmWave 2023
- SiC drift layer doping uniformity <5% across 6-inch wafer 2023
- GaN vertical devices Rdson 20 mΩ·cm² at 1200V 2023 prototypes
- SiC switching losses 75% less than Si at 10kHz 2023
- GaN slew rate >100V/ns without shoot-through 2023
- SiC 8-inch wafer micropipe density <0.1/cm² 2023 record
- GaN integration with Si drivers zero-voltage switching 99.5% eff 2023
- SiC body diode recovery time <20ns 2023 MOSFETs
- GaN quantum well mobility 2000 cm²/Vs 2023
- SiC power density 10x Si in modules 2023
- GaN half-bridge dead time <5ns 2023 ICs
- SiC gate driver integration reduces parasitics 40% 2023
- GaN lateral vs vertical Rdson comparison 2x better lateral 650V 2023
- SiC JFET/Si MOSFET cascode 99% eff 2023
- GaN 2DEG sheet resistance <300 Ω/sq 2023
- SiC avalanche ruggedness >2x Si 1200V 2023
- GaN dynamic Rdson overshoot <10% 2023 tests
- SiC 10kV devices leakage <1uA/cm² 2023
- GaN integrated Schottky 650V 99.2% eff totem-pole 2023
- SiC thermal cycling 5000 cycles 150C-25C 2023
- GaN fT 100GHz RF HEMTs 2023 record
- SiC planar vs trench gate threshold stability +20% trench 2023
- GaN bridge-less totem pole PFC 99.3% eff 3.3kW 2023
- SiC specific on-resistance Baliga FOM 300 MW/cm² 2023
- GaN zero-voltage switching loss <1% 2023 drivers
- SiC short-circuit withstand 10us 1200V 2023
Technology & Performance Interpretation
While silicon carbide steadily perfects the power grid's muscular backbone, gallium nitride is conducting a caffeine-fueled, high-frequency symphony on the same stage, proving that in the quest for energy efficiency, speed and strength can have a thrilling, complementary rivalry.
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