Emerging wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors hold the potential to advance the global industry in the same way that, more than 50 years ago, the invention of the silicon (Si) chip enabled the modern computer era. SiC- and GaN-based devices are starting to become more commercially available. Smaller, faster and more efficient than counterpart Si-based components, these WBG devices also offer a greater expected reliability in tougher operating conditions. Furthermore, in this frame, a new class of microelectronic-grade semiconducting materials that have an even larger bandgap than the previously established wide-bandgap semiconductors, such as GaN and SiC, have been created, and are; thus, referred to as “ultra-wide-bandgap” materials. These materials, which include AlGaN, AlN, diamond and BN oxide-based, offer theoretically superior properties, including a higher critical breakdown field, higher temperature operation and potentially higher radiation tolerance. These attributes, in turn, make it possible to use revolutionary new devices for extreme environments, such as high-efficiency power transistors, because of the improved Baliga Figure of Merit, ultra-high voltage pulsed power switches, high efficiency UV-LEDs, laser diodes and RF electronics.
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