Some of the advantages of third-generation semiconductors SiC and GaN include their ability to operate under high voltages, high temperatures （for SiC）, and high frequencies（for GaN）. Not only do these advantages allow manufacturers to significantly reduce the physical sizes of chips, but peripheral circuit designs can also be simplified as a result, thereby further reducing the sizes of modules, peripheral components, and cooling systems. That is why SiC and GaN have become important strategic focuses of the global semiconductor industry. As part of its ongoing goa...

StarPower Semiconductor and Cree announced that China’s Yutong Group is using Cree’s silicon carbade devices in a module for the powertrain system of electric buses. The use of silicon carbide-based power solutions enable faster, smaller, lighter and more powerful electronic systems for commercial electric vehicles. Cree works jointly with StarPower to accelerate the commercial adoption of silicon carbide-based inverters in electric bus applications. Upon rollout, Yutong Group will deliver their first electric bus in China to use silicon carbide in its powert...

GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) and ON Semiconductor announced on March 17 the execution of a five-year agreement which GTAT will produce and supply its CrystX™ silicon carbide (SiC) material to ON Semiconductor. The agreement is valued at a potential of US$50 million. Greg Knight, president and chief executive officer at GTAT, said, “Our agreement today helps address the very steep trajectory for SiC as the preferred semiconductor substrate material for power electronics applications.” By leveraging ON Semiconductor’s hi...

After selling the lighting business, Cree is accelerating its development in silicon carbide technology. The US firm announced the plan to establish a silicon carbide corridor on the East Coast of the United States with the creation of the world’s largest silicon carbide fabrication facility. Cree said it will build an automotive-qualified 200mm power and RF wafer fabrication facility in Marcy, New York, complemented by its mega materials factory expansion currently underway at its Durham headquarters. The new fabrication facility, part of a previously announce...

Higher efficiency, increased power density, smaller footprints and reduced system costs: these are the main advantages of transistors based on silicon carbide (SiC). Infineon Technologies AG is starting volume production for the EASY 1B, the first full-SiC module announced during PCIM 2016. On the occasion of this year’s PCIM in Nuremberg, the company is showcasing additional module platforms and topologies for the 1200 V CoolSiC™ MOSFET family. Infineon is now able to bring the potential of SiC technology to a new level.

Cree, a market leader in silicon-carbide (SiC) power and RF products announced the acquisition of APEI, a global leader in power modules and power electronics applications. Combining two highly complementary innovators, the acquisition enables Cree’s Power and RF business to extend its leadership position and help to accelerate the market for high-performance, best-in-class SiC power modules.

Leading LED chip industry experts had very different perspectives on GaN LED substrates at 2015 LED Executive Summit hosted by SEMI at TILS 2015 in TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall, Taipei, Taiwan recently.

Charles & Colvard, Ltd. (NASDAQ:CTHR), the sole source of created moissanite and Forever Brilliant®, The World’s Most Brilliant Gem®, entered into a new Exclusive Supply Agreement on December 12, 2014 with Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ:CREE) for purchases of silicon carbide (SiC) crystals.

Cree achieves another fundamental breakthrough in lighting-class LED performance with the groundbreaking SC5 Technology™ Platform. The new platform powers the next generation of lighting with the introduction of Extreme High Power (XHP) LEDs. This new class of LEDs can reduce system costs by up to 40 percent in most lighting applications.

Cree, Inc. announces the release of its second-generation SiC MOSFET, enabling systems to have higher efficiency and smaller size at cost parity with silicon-based solutions. These new 1200-V MOSFETs deliver industry-leading power density and switching efficiency at half the cost-per-amp of Cree’s previous-generation MOSFETs. At this price/performance point, they enable lower system costs for OEMs and provide additional savings to the end-user through increased efficiency and lower installation costs due to the lower size and weight of SiC-based systems. ...

AIXTRON AG today announced an order from its long-time customer, Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics (IAF) located in Freiburg, Germany. IAF has ordered one AIX 2800G4 HT, 11x4 inch MOCVD tool which it will be using for GaN on SiC for high power, high frequency applications to enable commercialization of GaN devices in the near future. The IAF placed its order in the fourth quarter of 2009 and AIXTRON’s support team will install and commission the new reactor at their laboratory in the third quarter of 2010.

Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a market leader in LED lighting and silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor components, announces a distribution agreement with Arrow Electronics, Inc. for Cree SiC power products. The agreement gives Arrow’s customers ready access to Cree’s latest commercially-available SiC Junction Barrier Schottky (JBS) products. Among the Cree products available through Arrow will be the recently released Z-REC™ Series of 600-V Schottky diodes and the groundbreaking 1200-V Schottky diode line.

Cree, Inc. announces it will work with both the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Propulsion Directorate and high-power module pioneer Powerex, Inc., to develop a demonstration dual switch 1200-volt, 100-amp power module featuring all-SiC semiconductors and capable of operating at junction temperatures up to 200 degrees C. The combination of advanced SiC devices and innovative package design allows the module to operate at temperatures beyond those achievable with a silicon IGBT-based module.