16 ADVANCING SEMICONDUCTOR DESIGN https://chipxglobal.com/ Issue 4 2025 Power Electronics Europe www.power-mag.com Advancing semiconductor design through wide-bandgap engineering By Chinmoy Baruah, Founder and CEO at CHIPX The global demand for energy and compute is rising exponentially, largely driven by data-intensive AI workloads, electrified transport and the exponential growth of data centre infrastructure. This presents new challenges for power electronics engineers tasked with the design, development, testing and improvement of systems that control the critical flow and transformation of power. There are a lot of important conversations happening about how to secure energy, keep the lights on, and continue to meet these computational demands. An area within this that is often overlooked, are the big developments happening at the tiny, semiconductor-level – with silicon chips having been an essential building block for all the technology and power infrastructure we take for granted today. The need for new building blocks The silicon chips that have powered this digital growth now face constraints in speed, efficiency and sustainability. Meeting the demand for ever-greater compute density while reducing power consumption requires a rethink at the material and system-level. Chip designers are now turning to wide-bandgap (WBG) and compound semiconductors that promise higher performance and lower emissions – a quiet revolution redefining how power is generated, converted and delivered - from grid infrastructure and EV charging systems to renewable converters and industrial drives Silicon-based semiconductors have clear performance limitations in today’s AI and data-led world. As power, thermal and switching demands soar, silicon’s narrow band-gap restricts the ability for chips to operate efficiently at high voltages, frequencies and temperatures. To sustain the trajectory of performance and efficiency, chip designers are increasingly turning to compound materials. At the same time, the opportunity is enormous. The UK government’s National Semiconductor Strategy highlights compound semiconductors as critical to industrial competitiveness and energy resilience. The future of compute and the systems that it powers, will depend on how effectively we can navigate the limitations of silicon and adopt materials that enable both speed and sustainability. While there will always be a role for silicon to play, but there is a clear demand for a new class of devices based on WBG chips that are physically able to deal with modern power requirements. Power at the core of the next generation of devices Devices powered by WBG semiconductors are capable of sustaining higher voltages, switching at higher frequencies and using materials that are more resistant to high temperatures. These characteristics translate directly into lower energy losses, reduced dependence on liquid or directto-chip cooling systems, and higher power density and performance at the devicelevel. In data centres especially, WBG devices support power-supply units and conversion modules that handle heavier loads while consuming less power and producing less heat - a critical advantage as the UK faces grid-connection constraints and cooling bottlenecks. But their impact extends far beyond the server rack. In electric-vehicle inverters, renewable-energy converters and industrial automation systems, WBG semiconductors enable smaller components and more efficient power control. Semiconductors perform multiple core functions to this end: processing and memory (CPUs, GPUs, DRAM), networking (photonic and optical interconnects for high-speed data transfer) and power management (voltage regulation, DC-DC conversion). WBG devices enhance each of these layers - improving efficiency, reducing heat and ultimately cutting total power usage effectiveness (PUE). To understand how these device-level improvements are achieved, we need to look a little deeper at the specific materials and compounds that make such performance gains possible. Inside the materials that make it possible The two compounds underpinning this performance leap are primarily Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC). Their wide-band gaps enable higher electric-field strengths, faster switching and greater thermal resilience than silicon. Though these materials have existed for decades, their relevance is accelerating quickly as power and performance demands grow. As ever, with opportunity comes new challenges. China accounts for roughly 98 % of gallium production, creating supplychain and geopolitical dependencies. GaN and SiC devices have tended to carry higher upfront costs but their lifecycle economics tell a different story: higher efficiency and lower cooling requirements translate to reduced operating costs and extended component life. In the UK, a recent Power Semiconductors Landscape Report
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