Perspective of loss mechanisms for silicon and wide band-gap power devices

With the commercial availability of GaN and SiC-based power semiconductor devices having significantly improved material characteristics, there is a need to discuss the perspective of the underlying physical loss mechanisms of these devices versus their silicon counterparts. This article will compare latest generation Superjunction power transistors versus e-mode GaN HEMTs and SiC MOSFETs in terms of semiconductor losses and their potential for further improvement. A short application section will give practical information on best matching circuits for each device concept.