14:40 – 15:00
Powering the SIC Revolution with Vertical Integration
Silicon Carbide has emerged as a promising material for power semiconductors, owing to its higher bandgap compared to Silicon. The higher bandgap enables unipolar power switches in the kilo volt range, bringing significant benefits in terms of efficiency and power density. As a consequence, SiC is already seeing mass adoption in various applications. However, several challenges still remain. In this presentation, the key benefits of SiC as well as the challenges in mass adoption of SiC are discussed. It will be explained how Sanan Semiconductors is working to solve some of these challenges, with its vertically integrated SiC production, i.e., from substrate to devices.
Ajay Poonjal Pai, Ph.D.
Sanan Semiconductor
Dr.-Ing. Ajay Poonjal Pai obtained his B. Tech in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from NITK Surathkal, India and M.Sc. in Electrical Power Engineering from RWTH Aachen University, Germany. He then pursued his PhD focusing on Silicon Carbide (SiC) power semiconductors for automotive traction inverter applications at the Friedrich Alexander University (FAU), Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. From 2015 to 2023, he worked at Infineon Technologies AG, Germany as a Principal Engineer responsible for next-generation automotive SiC technologies and power modules.
Since May 2023, he is working at Sanan Semiconductor Munich, where he is responsible for building and growing the Wide Bandgap (WBG) Innovation and Application engineering organization. His research interests include e-mobility, SiC semiconductors, power modules and power electronics, and has contributed to numerous invited lectures and conferences worldwide.
Company Profile
Sanan Semiconductor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the listed company Sanan Optoelectronics. Sanan is committed to becoming a world-class R & D, manufacturing and service platform for wide bandgap semiconductors. Sanan Semiconductor extended Sanan Optoelectronics’ 20-year compound semiconductor industrialization experience to the field of power electronics, and became a full-chain integration platform focusing on the wide bandgap semiconductor industry and providing the most comprehensive products and services.
Company Products & Services
Sanan Semiconductor’s silicon carbide (SiC) power products include automotive and industrial SiC Schottky barrier diodes (SBD) and SiC MOSFETs which provide key components with higher power density and higher energy conversion efficiency for the electric vehicles and renewable energy markets. These can then be applied to high-reliability applications such as electric vehicle drivetrains, charging stations, and solar photovoltaic inverters. Sanan Semiconductor is a member of the JEDEC JC-70 Wide Band Gap Semiconductor Standards Committee, which collaborated with the industry to provide process technologies and products with improved reliability and quality. The company also has a portfolio of AEC-Q101 certified products.
