Compound & Power Semiconductors

1891 · 135 years ago

Edward Acheson invented the industrial process for synthesising silicon carbide

The American inventor developed an electric furnace method to make carborundum as an industrial abrasive, unintentionally creating the material that decades later became the first wide-bandgap semiconductor put to electronic use.

1907 · 119 years ago

Henry Round at Marconi Laboratories observed electroluminescence in a silicon carbide crystal

The British engineer's laboratory notebook recorded light emission from a carborundum crystal under electric current, the first documented observation of the effect underlying today's compound-semiconductor optoelectronics.

1920s · 106 years ago

Oleg Losev carried out detailed studies of electroluminescence in silicon carbide

Working in the Soviet Union, the self-taught researcher documented light emission from silicon carbide crystals under electric current in detail, work later recognised as pioneering the light-emitting diode decades before the term existed.

1932 · 94 years ago

Chemists first synthesised gallium nitride in the laboratory

Early samples of the compound could be produced but not grown as usable crystals, leaving gallium nitride a laboratory curiosity for half a century before crystal-growth methods caught up with its potential.

1970s · 56 years ago

Conventional silicon semiconductor industry drew massive investment from the 1970s onward, leaving wide-bandgap research lagging

Sustained large-scale investment in conventional semiconductors such as silicon from the 1970s onward meant that research and development of wide-bandgap materials fell well behind. This investment gap shaped the later trajectory of wide-bandgap technology, which only attracted broader interest as conventional transistor density approached a plateau and the advantages of higher power density became compelling.

1989 · 37 years ago

Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano at Nagoya University solved gallium nitride's crystal growth and doping problems

The Japanese researchers grew high-quality gallium nitride on sapphire and found a way to make it p-type, overcoming obstacles that had stalled gallium nitride devices for two decades and enabling the diodes and transistors that followed.

1993 · 33 years ago

Shuji Nakamura at Nichia Corporation achieved the first high-brightness blue gallium nitride LED

The Japanese engineer's device solved the last missing colour needed for practical white lighting, building on earlier crystal-growth breakthroughs, and turned gallium nitride from a research material into a global lighting and display industry.

• Nakamura, Akasaki and Amano were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics

2001 · 25 years ago

Infineon Technologies commercialised the first silicon carbide Schottky diode

The German firm brought to market a power diode built from silicon carbide rather than silicon, offering faster switching and lower losses, marking the material's entry into mainstream power electronics manufacturing.

2009–2010 · 16 years ago

Efficient Power Conversion Corporation brought the first gallium nitride power transistors to market

The US firm commercialised gallium nitride field-effect transistors for power conversion rather than radio-frequency or lighting use, opening a new application for a material previously associated mainly with LEDs and radar amplifiers.

2015 · 11 years ago

China named third-generation semiconductors a strategic priority under Made in China 2025

Designating silicon carbide and gallium nitride a priority sector directed state funding toward domestic substrate and device producers, part of a broader effort to reduce reliance on imported compound-semiconductor technology.

2017–2018 · 8 years ago

Tesla fitted the Model 3 with a full silicon carbide inverter

The car was the first mass-market electric vehicle to replace silicon power switches with silicon carbide devices, supplied by STMicroelectronics, cutting inverter energy losses and prompting rapid adoption across the electric vehicle industry.

2025 · last year

WIN Semiconductors expanded gallium nitride radio-frequency foundry capacity in Taiwan

The compound semiconductor foundry added capacity for gallium nitride radio-frequency devices used in telecoms base stations and radar systems, responding to sustained demand from network operators and defence customers.

2025 · last year

India's Semiconductor Mission extended incentives to compound semiconductor projects

Government support originally aimed at conventional silicon fabrication was widened to cover silicon carbide and other compound semiconductor manufacturing, part of a broader effort to diversify India's nascent chip industry beyond a single material.

2025 · last year

SK Siltron expanded silicon carbide wafer production in South Korea and the United States

The South Korean firm built on its earlier acquisition of a US silicon carbide wafer business to grow output for electric vehicle and industrial power electronics customers, expanding capacity on both sides of the Pacific.

2025 · last year

Chinese defence publications highlighted continued fielding of gallium nitride-based radar across naval and air platforms

State and industry media pointed to wider use of gallium nitride active electronically scanned array radars in fire-control and early-warning systems, part of a broader multi-year modernisation of Chinese military sensors.

2025 · last year

Chinese silicon carbide substrate producers continued rapid capacity expansion

Firms including Tianyue Advanced Materials and SICC added wafer capacity and narrowed the quality gap with established Western suppliers, adding to global oversupply pressure that pushed down substrate prices.

• Global wafer prices came under sustained pressure

2025 · last year

Wolfspeed filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

The largest US silicon carbide substrate producer restructured its debt through bankruptcy proceedings after a prolonged slide in its share price, while continuing to operate its plants and supply automotive and industrial customers.

• Customers and suppliers were told supply would continue

2025–2026 · this year

AI data centre operators moved toward 800-volt direct current power built on wide-bandgap devices

Rising power demand from AI processors pushed hyperscale operators to explore higher-voltage direct current distribution, an architecture that depends on silicon carbide and gallium nitride switches to cut conversion losses at the scale involved.

2024–2025 · last year

Novel Crystal Technology progressed gallium oxide substrate development in Japan

The Japanese firm continued work on gallium oxide, an ultrawide bandgap material capable of higher breakdown voltages than silicon carbide, as researchers and manufacturers explored its potential for next-generation power devices.

2024–2025 · last year

STMicroelectronics and Sanan Optoelectronics advanced their joint venture silicon carbide plant in Chongqing

The European and Chinese companies progressed construction of an 8-inch silicon carbide device facility in China, a joint venture allowing STMicroelectronics to serve the Chinese market while localising part of its supply chain.

2024–2025 · last year

Infineon Technologies ramped up its new silicon carbide plant in Kulim, Malaysia

The German company brought its Kulim module 2 facility toward volume production, adding substrate and device capacity outside Europe to meet demand from automotive and industrial power electronics customers.

• Malaysia gained a larger role in the supply chain