Silicon Carbide - Global Market Outlook (2021 - 2028)

According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Silicon Carbide Market is accounted for $1,014.67 million in 2021 and is expected to reach $3,137.54 million by 2028 growing at a CAGR of 17.5% during the forecast period. Silicon carbide is a compound of silica and carbon. SIC is one of the hard materials, which has extraordinary performance when compared to silicon. Additionally, it can possibly to offer high power switching application in extreme environment. Silicon carbide is wide gap semiconductor material which is utilized in semiconductor electronics devices that work at high temperature or high voltage or both. This property has made silicon carbide to highly ideal in end-use applications.

Market Dynamics:

Driver:

Increasing demand for electric and hybrid cars

The electric and hybrid vehicles are gaining traction as they are more digitally connected than conventional vehicles. Also, they reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, such as petrol and diesel, reduce global warming and ecological damage, and offer superior fuel efficiency. Additionally, due to COVID-19, the automotive industry has been witnessing a slowdown in demand for hybrid, electric, and autonomous vehicles. However, their demand is likely to be higher than that of any other vehicle type in the post-COVID-19 period.

Restraint:

Design complexities, packaging issues, and material defects

In silicon carbide materials, especially crystals, micro-sized holes known as micropipes are found across the crystals. During the manufacturing of larger wafers, silicon carbide devices are susceptible to various defects such as dislocations, prototype inclusions, and stacking faults. These defects occur due to a non-optimal balance of silicon and carbon precursors, and local instability in pressure or temperature. These defects affect the device efficiency and degrade their electrical characteristics.

Opportunity:

Increasing demand for silicon carbide devices in power electronics

The power electronics play a crucial role in the global electrical infrastructure. In the power electronics industry, numerous power devices are available, which convert alternating current to direct current (or vice versa) in the systems. SiC devices such as Sic diodes and modules are compound semiconductors composed of silicon and carbide. They offer several advantages such as wide bandgap, high drift velocity, high breakdown voltage, large critical electric field, and high thermal conductivity, and are capable of working at higher current density and temperatures. Also, they are designed to minimize energy loss and increase the efficiency of the system.

Threat:

High fabrication and material costs

As silicon carbide materials are commercially synthesized in high-temperature environments, they are more expensive than Si raw material, while Si can be easily extracted from silica that occurs naturally. During device fabrication, several factors play a role in making it costlier for foundries and fabs, such as the lesser number of foundry and fab facilities. In addition, the final phases such as assembly, testing, and packaging, are costlier due to the lack of advanced technology-based suitable equipment.

The automotive segment is expected to be the largest during the forecast period

The automotive segment is estimated to have a lucrative growth owing to the rising penetration of electric vehicles, in which silicon carbide is used for manufacturing power electronic devices that operate at elevated temperatures. The increasing production of the devices to meet the global demand from the automotive industry is anticipated to augment market growth over the forecast period. For instance, according to the International Energy Agency, the global sales of electric vehicles are anticipated to reach 44 million per year by 2030, which in turn is likely to propel the demand for electronic devices such as inverters and MOSFET.

The black silicon carbide segment is expected to have the highest CAGR during the forecast period

The black silicon carbide segment is anticipated to witness the fastest CAGR growth during the forecast period owing to the increasing consumption of steel and growing automobile and construction industries. It is crystalline in nature with a hardness of Mohs 9.1 and is produced in furnaces at temperatures greater than 2300 degrees Celsius from silica sand and coke. Black silicon carbide has applications in abrasives, grinding and polishing, wear-resistant, and refractory products on account of its properties such as low density, resistant to oxidation and thermal shock, high strength, high thermal conductivity, high-temperature strength, high hardness, wear-resistance, excellent chemical resistance, and low thermal expansion. It is cost-effective compared to green silicon carbide.

Region with highest share:

Europe is projected to hold the largest market share during the forecast period due to the growing aerospace and defense industries and established automotive industry. Recently, the European Union allocated funds to the European Defense Industrial Development Programme to boost the growth of the defense industry, which in turn is anticipated to augment market growth over the coming years. Additionally, the growth in the manufacturing sector along with the increase in disposable income is expected to boost the demand for electronics and automobiles in Europe. Therefore, the growing end-use industries such as aerospace and defense, automotive, and electronics are anticipated to drive the market in the European region.

Region with highest CAGR:

Asia Pacific is projected to have the highest CAGR over the forecast period due to the increasing demand for advance and upgraded technology across various sectors, including electronics, automotive, and defense, in the region. China is one of the major consumers of semiconductors, and it is trying to ramp up semiconductor production. In 2019, Beijing, the capital of China, highlighted semiconductors as a key area of the Made in China 2025 plan, a government initiative that aimed to boost the production of higher-value products. China is aiming to produce 70% of the semiconductors it uses by 2025. The region is dominating the semiconductor market, which is supported by government policies owing to which the demand for silicon carbide is projected to increase further.

Key players in the market

Some of the key players profiled in the Silicon Carbide Market include Ascatron, CREE, Inc, Fuji Electric Co., Ltd, General Electric Company, GeneSiC Semiconductor Inc, Infineon Technologies AG, Microchip Technology Incorporated, ON Semiconductor, Powerex Inc, Renesas Electronics Corporation, SEMIKRON, SK Siltron, STMicroelectronics N.V, Toshiba Corporation, and UnitedSiC.

Key Developments:

In June 2021, Cree, Inc signed a contract with Shenzhen Gospower Digital Technology Co., Ltd, a national high-tech enterprise and leader in power electronics converters. Under this contract, CREE offers Cree's Wolfspeed®650 V silicon carbide MOSFETs for next-generation Common Redundant Power Supply (CRPS) solutions.

In June 2020, General Electric and II-VI Incorporated (US) agreed to license GE's technology to manufacture silicon carbide (SiC) devices and modules for power electronics.

In March 2020, SK Siltron, a global maker of semiconductor wafers, announced that it had completed the acquisition of DuPont's Silicon Carbide Wafer unit. The acquisition was closed on February 29, 2020.

Products Covered:

• Green Silicon Carbide
• Black Silicon Carbide

Device Types Covered:

• SIC Bare Die
• SIC Module
• SIC Discrete Device

Technologies Covered:

• Refractory Grade
• Metallurgical Grade

Wafer Sizes Covered:

• 2 Inch
• 4 Inch
• 6 Inch and Above

Crystal Structures Covered:

• Zinc Blende (3C-SiC)
• Wurtzite (6H-SiC)
• Wurtzite (4H-SiC)
• Rhombohedral (15R-SiC)

Applications Covered:

• Astronomical
• Atomic Sciences
• Electronic Combat Systems
• EV Charging Stations
• EV Motor Drives
• Flame Detectors
• Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTs)
• High-Voltage, Direct Current Systems (HVCDs)
• Industrial Motor Drives
• Lighting Control Systems
• Nuclear
• Power Grid Devices
• Power Supplies and Inverters
• Pyrometer
• RF Devices & Cellular Base Stations
• Solar Power Systems
• Wind Turbine

End Users Covered:

• Abrasive Industry
• Aerospace & Aviation
• Automotive
• Ceramic Industry
• Chemical
• Electrical & Electronics
• Energy & Power
• Healthcare & Medical
• Metallurgical Industry
• Military & Defense
• Nuclear Power
• Power Electronics
• Refractory Industry
• Renewable Power Generation
• Semiconductors
• Space Research
• Steel
• Telecommunication

Regions Covered:

• North America
  • US
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • Germany
  • UK
  • Italy
  • France
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • Japan
  • China
  • India
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • South Korea
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• South America
  • Argentina
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • Rest of South America
• Middle East & Africa
  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE
  • Qatar
  • South Africa
  • Rest of Middle East & Africa

What our report offers:

• Market share assessments for the regional and country-level segments
• Strategic recommendations for the new entrants
• Covers Market data for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2025, and 2028
• Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)
• Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations
• Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends
• Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments
• Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements

Free Customization Offerings:

All the customers of this report will be entitled to receive one of the following free customization options:

• Company Profiling
  • Comprehensive profiling of additional market players (up to 3)
  • SWOT Analysis of key players (up to 3)
• Regional Segmentation
  • Market estimations, Forecasts and CAGR of any prominent country as per the client's interest (Note: Depends on feasibility check)
• Competitive Benchmarking
  • Benchmarking of key players based on product portfolio, geographical presence, and strategic alliances