- News
12 September 2017
JEDEC forms committee to set standards for wide-bandgap power semiconductors
JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, which develops standards for the microelectronics industry, has formed a new JEDEC committee: JC-70 Wide Bandgap Power Electronic Conversion Semiconductors.
Led by interim chairs from Infineon, Texas Instruments and Wolfspeed (a Cree Company), the JC-70 committee will initially have two subcommittees, Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC), and focus on Reliability and Qualification Procedures; Datasheet Elements and Parameters; and Test and Characterization Methods.
JC-70’s first committee meeting will be co-located with the 5th IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA 2017) on 30 October in Albuquerque, NM. JEDEC meetings are open to committee members and invited guests only, and interested companies worldwide are welcome to join JEDEC to participate in standardization efforts (by e-mailing Emily Desjardins at emilyd@jedec.org).
As the most mature wide-bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor materials, silicon carbide and gallium nitride offer immense potential for enabling higher-performance, more compact and energy-efficient power systems, says JEDEC. “WBG GaN and SiC technologies are poised to benefit from the development of standards focused on quality and reliability, datasheets, and test methods,” says Tim McDonald, senior director GaN Applications and Marketing at Infineon Technologies.
During an industry conference in spring 2016, a working group of industry experts was formed. Designated as GaNSPEC DWG, it began laying the necessary groundwork for the development of standards for GaN. JEDEC began providing logistical support to the group shortly thereafter.
“To meet the demand of today’s energy and product requirements, this team is helping to create the mature industry infrastructure that customers need to design power supplies,” says Dr Stephanie Watts Butler, technology innovation architect at Texas Instruments. “The broad academic and industry participation is indicative of the importance of wide bandgap for complying with these requirements.”
GaNSPEC DWG was soon joined by a counterpart: the SiCSPEC working group. The two groups grew to almost 50 device makers, equipment manufacturers, technology creators, academic representatives and government labs from the USA, Europe and Asia. “Our consensus is that JEDEC is the logical home for the continuation of these efforts in a public forum,” says Dr Jeff Casady, business development & programs manager at Wolfspeed. “Creating clear, universal standards is a key step in advancing the adoption of wide-bandgap technologies. These new parameters will enable users to design SiC and GaN devices into the systems of tomorrow,” he adds.
“The formation of the JC-70 committee is part of an ongoing effort within JEDEC to extend our standards-setting expertise to new technologies to meet market demands,” says JEDEC’s president John Kelly. “We welcome all interested companies to participate in the development of open industry standards within JEDEC.”
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