| 1. | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY |
| 1.1. | Technical primer: What is power electronics? |
| 1.2. | Important properties of a transistor in power electronics |
| 1.3. | Comparison of semiconductor material properties |
| 1.4. | Comparison of Si to wide bandgap semiconductors SiC and GaN |
| 1.5. | Key trends in power electronics for EVs, data centers, and renewables |
| 1.6. | Manufacturing for SiC and GaN refined; UWBG manufacture still active R&D |
| 1.7. | The power electronics value chain |
| 1.8. | Different EV PoE component requirements affect the materials used |
| 1.9. | IDTechEx inverter outlook on power density |
| 1.10. | 800V EV platforms improves charging speeds and is supported by SiC |
| 1.11. | AI pushes data centers towards higher power density, not just efficiency |
| 1.12. | 400VAC → 800VDC data centers: driven by power density, influenced by EVs |
| 1.13. | Key changes in the 800VDC data center architecture |
| 1.14. | NVIDIA partners with numerous WBG Tier 1s for new data centers |
| 1.15. | Dealing with "spiky" AI training loads requires cross-industry collaboration |
| 1.16. | Solar and wind energy are significant growth areas led by China |
| 1.17. | More powerful wind turbines necessitate a change in power architecture |
| 1.18. | Significant mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures in solar and wind |
| 1.19. | Overall 10% CAGR in PoE market, with strongest growth in GaN and SiC. |
| 1.20. | EV continues to take majority of power electronics market share |
| 1.21. | Strong SiC growth and rapid GaN commercialization expected 2026-2036 |
| 1.22. | Analyst opinions |
| 1.23. | Access more with an IDTechEx subscription |
| 2. | INTRODUCTION TO POWER ELECTRONICS |
| 2.1. | Technical primer: What is power electronics? |
| 2.2. | Overarching goals of power electronics development |
| 2.3. | Bare dies, discretes, and modules |
| 2.4. | Silicon in power electronics |
| 2.5. | Silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) in power electronics |
| 2.6. | Electric vehicle applications: Inverter |
| 2.7. | Electric vehicle applications: On-board charger |
| 2.8. | Electric vehicle applications: DC-DC converter |
| 2.9. | Data center applications |
| 2.10. | Applications in wind energy |
| 2.11. | Power electronics are critical for grid-level stability |
| 3. | SEMICONDUCTORS FOR POWER ELECTRONICS |
| 3.1. | Silicon (Si) |
| 3.1.1. | Silicon has been the semiconductor of choice for over fifty years |
| 3.1.2. | Silicon devices have been refined over decades |
| 3.1.3. | Silicon has decreased in price dramatically over fifty years and is by far the cheapest option |
| 3.1.4. | Silicon is fundamentally limited in next generation power electronics applications |
| 3.1.5. | WBGs will complement Si where voltages/switching frequencies are limiting |
| 3.2. | WBG semiconductors: Silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) |
| 3.2.1. | SiC can support considerably higher voltages than silicon |
| 3.2.2. | SiC devices can handle higher voltages with a thinner drift layer |
| 3.2.3. | The switch to SiC is seen in many power electronics applications |
| 3.2.4. | GaN has an even higher bandgap than SiC, and a very high electron mobility |
| 3.2.5. | Bulk GaN can reach high voltages, but is prohibitively expensive |
| 3.2.6. | Both SiC and GaN reduce switching losses compared to Si IGBTs |
| 3.2.7. | SiC & GaN have substantial room for improvement |
| 3.2.8. | SiC and GaN are likely to complement Si in various different applications |
| 3.2.9. | Different figure of merit (FoM) scores show WBG material dominance over Si |
| 3.2.10. | Si IGBT and SiC MOSFET Price Comparison |
| 3.2.11. | SiC and GaN Device Cost Comparison |
| 3.2.12. | Why SiC "won" over GaN, and why this could change in the next ten years |
| 3.2.13. | SWOT analysis: SiC as a WBG semiconductor |
| 3.2.14. | SWOT analysis: GaN as a WBG semiconductor |
| 3.3. | Ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors: Ga2O3, diamond, and AlN |
| 3.3.1. | What are ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors? |
| 3.3.2. | UWBG semiconductors could disrupt many PoE applications |
| 3.3.3. | There is competition between three different key UWBG materials |
| 3.3.4. | AlN and Al(Ga)N |
| 3.3.5. | Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) |
| 3.3.6. | Diamond |
| 3.3.7. | Comparison of UWBG semiconductors to existing materials |
| 3.3.8. | Some larger players are involved in wafer growth, but applications are largely dominated by startups and spinouts |
| 3.3.9. | The defense sector is investing in UWBG material and applications research |
| 3.3.10. | UWBGs have huge disruptive potential, but are not yet commercial |
| 3.3.11. | UWBG wafer costs are coming down, but are still prohibitively expensive |
| 3.3.12. | UWBGs must overcome key challenges before commercialization |
| 3.3.13. | Strong push towards UWBG research in academia |
| 3.3.14. | REWIRE: A UK-based innovation and knowledge center (IKC) |
| 3.3.15. | ATECOM Technology showcase key UWBG materials and devices |
| 3.3.16. | JBDianet is hopeful for CVD diamond in aerospace and defense applications |
| 3.3.17. | Asahi Diamond looks towards UWBG and diamond semiconductors |
| 3.3.18. | SWOT analysis: Diamond as an UWBG semiconductor |
| 3.3.19. | SWOT analysis: Ga2O3 as an UWBG semiconductor |
| 4. | SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURE |
| 4.1. | The semiconductor value chain |
| 4.1.1. | Overview: From raw materials to final die |
| 4.1.2. | SiC Value Chain with Key Players |
| 4.1.3. | GaN Value Chain with Key Players |
| 4.1.4. | Market share of power electronics suppliers |
| 4.1.5. | Automotive GaN device suppliers are growing |
| 4.2. | Bulk substrates, epitaxy, and growth methods |
| 4.2.1. | Si IGBT production: Raw materials to end-product |
| 4.2.2. | SiC MOSFET Production: Raw materials to end-product |
| 4.2.3. | SiC-specific equipment (1) |
| 4.2.4. | SiC-specific equipment (2) |
| 4.2.5. | Energy demand of processes: Si vs GaN |
| 4.2.6. | Many scientific and economic considerations feed into the "perfect" epitaxy |
| 4.2.7. | Heteroepitaxy and homoepitaxy both come with advantages and drawbacks |
| 4.2.8. | Which substrate will prevail for GaN? |
| 4.2.9. | Epitaxy methods: MOCVD - a balance of speed and precision |
| 4.2.10. | Epitaxy methods: HVPE - for fast template and substrate growth |
| 4.2.11. | Epitaxy methods: MBE - slow, but highly accurate |
| 4.2.12. | Epitaxy methods: MPCVD - the standard for electrical-grade diamond |
| 4.2.13. | Epitaxy methods: Mist-CVD - a potential low-cost route to Ga2O3 films |
| 4.2.14. | Element 3-5 GmbH's next-level epitaxy (NLE) promises 10x higher throughput |
| 4.2.15. | Element 3-5's NLE could prove highly disruptive to epitaxy if successful |
| 4.2.16. | Several challenges must be addressed before NLE can take off |
| 4.2.17. | Commercialization is limited by a trade-off between purity and growth-rate |
| 4.3. | Recent trends in SiC and GaN manufacture |
| 4.3.1. | The 150mm to 200mm transition in SiC is associated with cost advantages |
| 4.3.2. | 200mm Wafer Die Count Advantage |
| 4.3.3. | 2025: The transition to 8-inch SiC wafers continues to accelerate |
| 4.3.4. | 200mm SiC wafer production worldwide |
| 4.3.5. | Strong Chinese competition drove down SiC prices, while the West struggled to keep up |
| 4.3.6. | Many power semiconductor suppliers are vertically integrated, but still rely on China to top up supply |
| 4.3.7. | Synlight supplies many leading tier 1s and is readying itself for 300mm SiC |
| 4.3.8. | TYSiC is China's largest, and the world's 3rd largest, SiC epitaxy supplier |
| 4.3.9. | CrystalYond is involved in the R&D for 300mm SiC |
| 4.3.10. | Atecom includes SiC among its highly diversified material supply |
| 4.3.11. | Jhonghuan adds SiC (and GaN) to diversify its portfolio beyond just silicon |
| 4.3.12. | 300mm SiC is here, but costs are too high and processing is not ready |
| 4.3.13. | Bosch commits to SiC roadmap using only 200mm SiC wafers |
| 4.3.14. | Bosch bets on trench design for easy transition to advanced architectures |
| 4.3.15. | Denso: Research and development for faster SiC crystal growth |
| 4.3.16. | Siltectra: Cold split technology |
| 4.3.17. | SmartSiC Technology from SOITEC |
| 4.3.18. | Summary of SmartSiC Advantages |
| 4.3.19. | Sumitomo Metal Mining: SiCkrest |
| 4.3.20. | Sumitomo Metal Mining: SiCkrest (2) |
| 4.3.21. | Trench vs planar |
| 4.3.22. | Extensive collaboration to commercialize 300mm GaN-on-Si |
| 4.3.23. | Infineon is working independently to establish leadership in 300mm GaN |
| 4.3.24. | Power Integrations develops 1250V and 1700V PowiGaN cascode devices |
| 4.3.25. | Startups pioneering vertical GaN FinFETs on engineered substrates |
| 4.3.26. | Onsemi announces research on vertical GaN devices |
| 4.3.27. | Qromis engineered substrate for GaN power: QST |
| 4.3.28. | Why vertical GaN devices could disrupt the power electronics market |
| 5. | POWER ELECTRONICS IN EVS |
| 5.1. | Introduction to electric vehicles |
| 5.1.1. | Electric vehicle definitions |
| 5.1.2. | Electric vehicles: Typical specs |
| 5.1.3. | EU targets drive down emissions |
| 5.1.4. | Powertrain tailpipe emissions comparison |
| 5.2. | Overview of power electronics in electric vehicles |
| 5.2.1. | Power electronics use in electric vehicles |
| 5.2.2. | Inverter, OBC, DC-DC converter |
| 5.2.3. | Limitations of SiC power devices |
| 5.2.4. | GaN to become preferred OBC technology |
| 5.3. | Onboard chargers |
| 5.3.1. | Current landscape for OBCs |
| 5.3.2. | How GaN is implemented into an OBC |
| 5.3.3. | GaN Systems' onboard charger |
| 5.3.4. | Cost and volume reductions of a GaN OBC |
| 5.3.5. | Ricardo: GaN in the automotive market |
| 5.3.6. | Progress of different applications of GaN |
| 5.4. | Traction inverters |
| 5.4.1. | Inverter overview |
| 5.4.2. | Traditional EV inverter |
| 5.4.3. | Discretes and modules |
| 5.4.4. | Inverter components and cost |
| 5.4.5. | Current inverter landscape |
| 5.4.6. | GaN vs SiC potential in the inverter |
| 5.4.7. | Electric vehicle inverter benchmarking |
| 5.4.8. | SiC impact on the inverter package |
| 5.4.9. | IDTechEx inverter predictions on power density |
| 5.5. | Trends impacting EV power electronics |
| 5.5.1. | Improving the efficiency of power electronics |
| 5.5.2. | Efficiency and thermal gains, 800V |
| 5.5.3. | Examples of SiC in the automotive industry |
| 5.5.4. | SiC drives 800V platforms |
| 5.5.5. | 800V charging speeds |
| 5.5.6. | 800V platforms SiC and Si IGBT inverters |
| 5.5.7. | Hybrid switch inverters |
| 5.5.8. | Hybrid switch inverters |
| 5.5.9. | Integration of power electronics |
| 5.5.10. | Traction integrated onboard charger (iOBC) |
| 5.5.11. | BorgWarner: Combined inverter and DC-DC converter |
| 5.5.12. | SiC MOSFET vs Si IGBT: Overall vehicle cost |
| 5.5.13. | SiC MOSFET usage by automotive OEMs and suppliers - leading OEMs |
| 5.5.14. | Si IGBT suppliers to leading OEMs |
| 5.5.15. | Electric vehicle power electronics forecast by semiconductor material |
| 5.5.16. | EV power electronics market forecast by semiconductor and application |
| 6. | POWER ELECTRONICS IN DATA CENTERS |
| 6.1. | Introduction to data centers |
| 6.1.1. | What is a data center? |
| 6.1.2. | Different types of data centers |
| 6.1.3. | On-site data centers are losing popularity, hyperscalers and edge take over |
| 6.1.4. | Data centers consume a significant and growing portion of global energy |
| 6.1.5. | The USA leads significantly on data centers, followed by Germany and the UK |
| 6.1.6. | Data center efficiency has improved since 2007, but has stalled since 2018 |
| 6.1.7. | Future data center improvements involve power density, not just efficiency |
| 6.1.8. | Summary of colocation and hyperscaler providers, and data center providers |
| 6.2. | Overview of power electronics in data centers |
| 6.2.1. | Some notes on data center architecture |
| 6.2.2. | Power electronics play a critical role in data center operation. |
| 6.2.3. | Incumbent rack architecture 1: "One PSU per shelf" |
| 6.2.4. | Incumbent rack architecture 2: "Central PSU shelf and 48V bus" |
| 6.3. | Power factor correction (PFC) and the power supply unit (PSU) |
| 6.3.1. | Power supply units are critical for data center efficiency and power density |
| 6.3.2. | Power factor correction is a crucial use of power electronics |
| 6.3.3. | The "80 Plus" program sets the global standard for PSU efficiency |
| 6.3.4. | Other programs incentivize or mandate efficiency requirements globally |
| 6.3.5. | The LLC converter steps voltage down to the server level |
| 6.3.6. | Adoption of SiC and GaN in the PSU |
| 6.3.7. | Timeline of WBG adoption in PSUs |
| 6.4. | AI data centers and 800VDC |
| 6.4.1. | Computational costs of AI are huge |
| 6.4.2. | Power and cooling are now at the fore of AI data center considerations |
| 6.4.3. | AI is driving the push for increased power density, rather than just efficiency |
| 6.4.4. | Nvidia's GB200 NVL72 and GB300 NVL72 |
| 6.4.5. | Existing data center architecture cannot support future server generations (1) |
| 6.4.6. | Existing data center architecture cannot support future server generations (2) |
| 6.4.7. | NVIDIA's redistribution of power |
| 6.4.8. | Key changes in the 800VDC data center architecture |
| 6.4.9. | Rack-level 800VDC and material reductions |
| 6.4.10. | EV charging architecture influences 800VDC data center power architecture (1) |
| 6.4.11. | EV charging architecture influences 800VDC data center power architecture (2) |
| 6.4.12. | NVIDIA's Kyber Architecture will begin rollout in 2027 |
| 6.4.13. | Long-term data center power architecture simplified by SSTs |
| 6.4.14. | Two different 800V rack architectures increase flexibility within existing DCs |
| 6.4.15. | 800VDC can be implemented gradually and retrofitted |
| 6.4.16. | NVIDIA partners with numerous WBG Tier 1s for new data centers |
| 6.4.17. | Navitas: Combined GeneSiC and GaNSafe PSU |
| 6.4.18. | Infineon: 12kW high power density PSU with energy buffer for transient loads |
| 6.4.19. | Onsemi: 12kW PSU for AI and cloud features SiC cascode JFETs |
| 6.4.20. | STM: LLC converter for 800VDC data centers with 2600W/in3 efficiency |
| 6.4.21. | Innoscience commits to all-GaN technology for power conversion |
| 6.4.22. | Power Integrations 1250V/1700V GaN technology maximizes efficiency |
| 6.4.23. | Summary of next-generation 8-12kW PSUs |
| 6.4.24. | Does AI really need this much power? |
| 6.4.25. | Why not go to higher voltages? |
| 6.4.26. | Data center power electronics forecast by semiconductor material |
| 6.4.27. | Data center 800VDC (HVDC) market forecast |
| 6.5. | "Spiky" AI training loads |
| 6.5.1. | Synchronized GPUs introduce new challenges in workload management |
| 6.5.2. | Fluctuating AI workloads stress compute equipment and affect the grid |
| 6.5.3. | Software-only mitigation |
| 6.5.4. | GPU power smoothing |
| 6.5.5. | Challenges and limitations of GPU power smoothing |
| 6.5.6. | Rack-level energy storage |
| 6.5.7. | Summary of all three solutions |
| 6.5.8. | Power stabilization requires all three solutions and industry-wide cooperation |
| 7. | POWER ELECTRONICS IN RENEWABLES |
| 7.1. | Introduction to renewables |
| 7.1.1. | What is renewable energy? |
| 7.1.2. | Wind and solar have grown significantly in the past ten years |
| 7.1.3. | Wind and solar prices have dropped significantly in recent years |
| 7.1.4. | Geographical breakdown of wind energy generation (2015-2024) |
| 7.1.5. | Geographical breakdown of solar energy generation (2015-2024) |
| 7.1.6. | Onshore wind dominates, both in rollout and cost |
| 7.1.7. | Different types of solar power |
| 7.1.8. | Solar energy power electronics value chain |
| 7.1.9. | Wind energy power electronics value chain |
| 7.1.10. | Significant mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures in solar and wind |
| 7.2. | Power electronics in wind energy |
| 7.2.1. | Forecast wind turbine capacity growth from 2026 to 2036 |
| 7.2.2. | The wind turbine nacelle |
| 7.2.3. | Wind speed is not constant, but the AC output must be |
| 7.2.4. | Fixed-speed wind turbines (mostly legacy) |
| 7.2.5. | Doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) |
| 7.2.6. | Permanent magnet synchronous generators and full power converters |
| 7.2.7. | Comparison of DFIG and full conversion |
| 7.2.8. | Comparison of DFIG and PMSG in modern turbines |
| 7.2.9. | PMSG and full conversion dominates at higher power ratings |
| 7.2.10. | PMSG expected to increase dominance from 2026-36 |
| 7.2.11. | Forecast of new turbines introduced with PMSG vs. DFIG 2026-2036 |
| 7.2.12. | Full power converter for PMSG turbines |
| 7.2.13. | Hitachi's most powerful converter based on silicon IGCT technology |
| 7.2.14. | ABB's lower-power converter based on IGBT technology |
| 7.2.15. | Ingeteam full converter supports up to 18MW |
| 7.2.16. | Infineon's two dual-IGBT power modules optimized for converters |
| 7.2.17. | Summary of existing wind power converters and power modules |
| 7.2.18. | Hopewind's partnership with Wolfspeed for wind converters |
| 7.2.19. | Wind power electronics forecast by converter type |
| 7.2.20. | Wind power converter forecast by semiconductor material |
| 7.3. | Voltage-source converter HVDC in offshore wind |
| 7.3.1. | What is VSC-HVDC? |
| 7.3.2. | Benefits of HVDC over AC in offshore wind |
| 7.3.3. | Map of global HVDC wind farm projects |
| 7.3.4. | VDC-HVDC is reliant on well-established silicon IGBT technology |
| 8. | FORECASTS |
| 8.1. | Methodology |
| 8.2. | Power electronics market forecast by semiconductor material 2023-2036 |
| 8.3. | Power electronics overall market forecast by application area |
| 8.4. | Electric vehicle power electronics forecast by semiconductor material |
| 8.5. | EV power electronics market forecast by semiconductor and application |
| 8.6. | Data center power electronics forecast by semiconductor material |
| 8.7. | Data center 800VDC (HVDC) market forecast |
| 8.8. | Wind power electronics forecast by converter type |
| 8.9. | Wind power converter forecast by semiconductor material |
| 9. | COMPANY PROFILES |
| 9.1. | AcBel Polytech Inc. |
| 9.2. | Asahi Diamond Industrial Co. Ltd. |
| 9.3. | Atecom Technology Co., Ltd. |
| 9.4. | BMW |
| 9.5. | Bosch Semiconductors |
| 9.6. | BYD Auto |
| 9.7. | Diamond Foundry: Electric Vehicle Inverters |
| 9.8. | Efficient Power Conversion: GaN FETs |
| 9.9. | Efficient Power Conversion: GaN in Automotive |
| 9.10. | Element 3-5 GmbH |
| 9.11. | Gallox Semiconductors |
| 9.12. | Hebei Synlight Semiconductor |
| 9.13. | Hitachi Energy Ltd. |
| 9.14. | Hyundai |
| 9.15. | Infineon: 750V SiC MOSFETs for Onboard Chargers |
| 9.16. | Infineon: Automotive Power Electronics |
| 9.17. | Infineon: Expanding SiC OEM Partnerships |
| 9.18. | JB Dianet LLP |
| 9.19. | Leguan |
| 9.20. | Nexperia: GaN for EV Power Electronics |
| 9.21. | Novomorphic |
| 9.22. | QPT: MHz Switching, Active Cooling GaN |
| 9.23. | Silanna UV |
| 9.24. | Silicon Austria Labs GmbH |
| 9.25. | Transphorm (Renesas) GaN for high power applications |
| 9.26. | TYSiC |
| 9.27. | Wolfspeed: Major SiC Supply Deals |
| 9.28. | Zhonghuan Advanced Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. |