After a development lasted several years, Bosch is starting the mass-production of silicon carbide power semiconductors (SiC).
Small, powerful and extremely efficient, chips will be increasingly used in new vehicles. Bosch, in fact, will supply silicon carbide power semiconductors to customers worldwide, both under the form of single chips and mounted in power electronics or complete solutions such as eAxle. Designed to be efficient, the overall system formed by electric motor, gearbox and power electronics allows obtaining a maximum 96% efficiency degree.
Harald Kröger, member of the Board, stated: «Concerning silicon carbide semiconductors, a bright future is looming. We aim at becoming world leaders in the mass production of these indispensable components for electric mobility».
To supply on a large scale SiC chips, Bosch has developed its own highly complex manufacturing process.
The demand for powerful silicon carbide semiconductors is rising worldwide. The market research and consulting company Yole estimates that every year the entire SiC market will score an average 30% growth until 2025, reaching 2.5 billion dollars. Let us go more into technical details: the secret of the performances of SiC chips is a tiny carbon atom that is integrated into the high-purity silicon crystalline structure, generally used for the production of semiconductors, conferring particular physical features to the matter.
