The Hottest Gallium Nitride

The Hottest Gallium Nitride – Protective Membrane Spray – Cheersonic

As the development of silicon-based technology is gradually approaching its limit, the third generation of semiconductors represented by silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN), zinc oxide (ZnO), diamond, aluminum nitride (AlN), etc. Explosive vent. Among them, SiC and GaN, as the most mature and commercialized third-generation semiconductor materials, are naturally gaining momentum.

Gallium nitride is mainly a synthetic semiconductor material with a band gap greater than 2.3eV, also known as a wide band gap semiconductor material, and is a new material for the development of microelectronic devices and optoelectronic devices. Compared with “the one who obtains silicon carbide wins the world”, gallium nitride appears to be much more low-key. In 1969, Japanese scientist Maruska and other talents deposited a gallium nitride film on the surface of a sapphire substrate. At the beginning of this century, gallium nitride entered a stage of rapid development. . In 2019, gallium nitride entered mainstream consumer applications for the first time as one of the main materials for third-generation semiconductors, and in 2020 it attracted attention due to Xiaomi’s gallium nitride charger.

Low-key but “sucking money”

Behind the ability to attract gold is the strong potential of gallium nitride. Also a third-generation semiconductor material, gallium nitride is often used to compare with silicon carbide. Although it has not developed as long as silicon carbide, gallium nitride still relies on its large band gap, high breakdown voltage and thermal conductivity. Its advantages include high rate, high saturation electron drift speed and strong radiation resistance. According to the GaN Power 2021 report released by Yole Developpement, the GaN power market is expected to reach $1.1 billion by 2026.

According to statistics, gallium nitride is usually used in the three major fields of microwave radio frequency, power electronics and optoelectronics. The microwave radio frequency direction includes 5G communication, radar early warning, satellite communication, etc.; the power electronics direction includes smart grid, high-speed rail transit, new energy vehicles , consumer electronics, etc.; optoelectronics direction includes LEDs, lasers, photodetectors, etc.

Among them, 5G communication and new energy vehicles will also become the key investment direction of gallium nitride in the future. With the continuous growth of automobile electrification, 5G communication, and the Internet of Things market, GaN has once again become the focus of attention, supported by the powerful performance of small-scale packaging. In the field of 5G communications, GaN can reduce the size and weight of 5G antennas while meeting strict thermal specifications, so it is suitable for the high frequency and wide bandwidth required in the millimeter wave field. In the current hot automotive electronics market, gallium nitride can also make the car’s on-board charger (OBC) and DC-DC converter smaller and lighter, so that there is room to put more lithium batteries and improve the overall vehicle. recharge mileage.

Forecasts are expected to begin in 2022 with gallium nitride penetrating into applications such as OBC and DC-DC converters in small quantities. As a result, the automotive and mobility market will be worth more than $155 million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 185%.

The development problems behind the “sucking gold”

There is no doubt that gallium nitride has become an important development direction of the semiconductor industry, but it is undeniable that, like silicon carbide, gallium nitride also has various technical difficulties.

The current development problems of gallium nitride materials mainly include the following aspects:
One is the substrate material problem. The degree of matching between the substrate and the film lattice affects the quality of the GaN film. On the one hand, the most widely used substrate is sapphire (Al2O3), which is widely used due to its simple preparation, low price, good thermal stability, and can be used to grow large-sized thin films, but due to its crystal lattice The constant and linear expansion coefficient are quite different from those of gallium nitride, and the prepared gallium nitride film may have defects such as cracks. On the other hand, there are also data showing that due to the unresolved single crystal substrate, the heteroepitaxial defect density is quite high, and the polarity of gallium nitride is too large, it is difficult to obtain a good metal-semiconductor ohmic contact through high doping. Therefore, the manufacturing process is more complicated.

The second is the preparation of GaN thin films. The more traditional GaN thin film preparation methods include MOCVD (metal organic vapor deposition), MBE (molecular beam epitaxy) and HVPE (hydride vapor phase epitaxy). Among them, the MOCVD method has a large yield and a short growth cycle, and is suitable for mass production, but it needs to be annealed after the growth is completed, and the final film may have cracks, which will affect the quality of the product; MBE method can only be used Because a small amount of GaN thin film is prepared at one time, it cannot be used for large-scale production; the GaN crystal produced by HVPE method is of good quality and grows faster at higher temperatures, but high temperature reaction has high requirements on production equipment, production costs and technical requirements. relatively high.

The third is the problem of obtaining GaN seed crystals. It takes several years to grow a two-inch seed crystal directly using the ammonothermal method, so how to obtain high-quality, large-size GaN seeds is also a challenge.

In addition, gallium nitride currently has two technical difficulties. One is that the size of the currently grown substrate silicon carbide cannot exceed the size of a 6-inch wafer. At the same time, the cost of obtaining silicon carbide is relatively high. Neither mass production nor price can be suppressed; the second is how to make gallium nitride grow on silicon wafers with high yield, which is a technology that the industry needs to break through. If it can overcome and use the existing Infrastructure, the future price and output of gallium nitride can be improved.

It can be seen that in order to increase the production capacity of gallium nitride, control the cost and form a complete industrial chain, the technical challenges faced cannot be underestimated.

Where there is a problem, there is a new technology

Of course, where there are problems, there will be scientific research, and where there is scientific research, there will be wisdom, and where there is wisdom, many breakthrough technologies will obviously be born.

The joint Chinese and Swiss team has brought the performance of GaN devices close to the theoretical limit
Jingzhan Semiconductor breaks through 12-inch silicon-based GaN HEMT epitaxy technology
AIST develops the world’s first integrated single-chip prototype of GaN HEMT and SiC SBD
Nanomicro Semiconductor launches new GaNSense technology

In general, although there are still deficiencies in the preparation of gallium nitride and power device products, the industry has also proposed corresponding technical solutions to solve it. Gallium will also be expected to become a business opportunity to detonate third-generation semiconductors.

Author: Gong Jiajia Semiconductor Industry Observation

Disclaimer: We remain neutral to the opinions in the article, which are for reference and communication purposes only. If it involves copyright and other issues, please contact us for deletion, thank you!

Cheersonic is the leading developer and manufacturer of ultrasonic coating systems for applying precise, thin film coatings to protect, strengthen or smooth surfaces on parts and components for the microelectronics/electronics, alternative energy, medical and industrial markets, including specialized glass applications in construction and automotive.