APEC (2015) Rap Session Ponders Progress, Prospects And Pitfalls For GaN Devices

Focus:

At this year's Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC 2015) in Charlotte, N.C., I was once again honored and privileged to moderate the rap session on wide-bandgap semiconductors. This is the third year this topic has been included among the three Tuesday night rap sessions and this was possibly the most popular of the three sessions as the room was filled to capacity with approximately 450 individuals. Free unlimited beer helped fuel the session and keep things lively. Although the wide- bandgap topic was being revisited, the treatment of the subject has been evolving. The theme this year was "Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Devices in Power Electronics:Who, What, Where, When and Why?" Moreover, the focus narrowed to address just gallium nitride (GaN) because there is a widely held belief is that silicon carbide (SiC) is further along in finding its way and entering mainstream applications, especially in the higher voltage areas. The distinguished panelists this year included the usual representatives of semiconductor device manufacturers but also some representation from the power supply field with practicing design engineers in the group.

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Author & Publication:

Kevin Parmenter, How2Power Today , How2Power Today, Apr 16 2015

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