The fourth generation of semiconductors has arrived, can gallium oxide replace silicon carbide?

Industry attention to gallium oxide

Driven by the trend of digitization and intelligence, the development heat of the semiconductor market continues to rise. Especially with the continuous development of high-tech such as quantum information and artificial intelligence, new semiconductor systems and multifunctional device technologies such as microelectronics are also rapidly updating and iterating. In order to meet the new demands for high performance and low cost, the industry has begun to pay attention to the fourth generation of semiconductors, with gallium oxide being the most eye-catching.

Expert comments

Gallium oxide has many superior characteristics and is considered a material that may disrupt the current compound semiconductor market and enable domestic chip manufacturers to overtake in the curve. But gallium oxide also has many challenges to face and overcome. In this article, non research institutes will provide a detailed introduction to the advantages, challenges, and market prospects of gallium oxide.

The advantages of gallium oxide

Gallium oxide, a fourth generation semiconductor material, has advantages such as a large bandgap (4.8 eV), high critical breakdown field strength (8MV/cm), and good conduction characteristics. Gallium oxide has five confirmed crystal forms, among which the most stable is β- Ga2O3. Its bandgap width is 4.8-4.9 eV, with a breakdown field strength of up to 8 MV/cm, and its conduction resistance is much lower than SiC and GaN, greatly reducing the device's conduction loss. Its characteristic parameter of Baliga High Quality (BFOM) is as high as 3400, which is approximately 10 times that of SiC and 4 times that of GaN.

The market potential of gallium oxide

According to NCT and others, the market for gallium oxide wafers is expected to grow significantly in the next decade and expand to approximately RMB 3.02 billion by 2030. This trend reflects the importance of gallium oxide in power electronic devices and its future potential. Gallium oxide has significant advantages in certain specific application areas.

Overall, gallium oxide has great potential in the field of power devices and can compete with materials such as SiC and GaN in multiple fields, meeting the needs of high-performance applications such as high efficiency, low energy consumption, high frequency, and high temperature. However, the penetration of new materials into applications such as inverters and chargers takes time and requires continuous development of suitable specifications for specific applications, gradually promoting them to the market.