With the increasing demand for hybrid/electric vehicles in the market, the wafer industry is expecting more and more from power electronic components. IHS, a market research institute, points out that the demand from power supply, solar photovoltaic inverters (PV) and industrial motor drivers is expected to make the growth rate of new silicon carbide GaN and SiC power semiconductor market is eighteen times as high as that of the current market at two digits per year.

        Yoshiaki Yoshida, a board member of Advantest, a Japanese supplier of semiconductor automated testing equipment, told EETimes editors in a telephone interview that many semiconductor companies "look to power components for the future." He pointed out that today's small consumer electronic devices such as mobile phones, power chips are well made and standardized, but power components in large systems still face some problems.

        Yoshida explained that the so-called large-scale systems refer to hybrid/electric vehicles, power grids, smart families, smart cities and metro power systems, etc., which require higher voltages and currents: "At present, we are slightly behind in the technological development and standardization of such power components." This is also one of the motivations behind the recent establishment of the Power Device Enabling Association (PDEA) in Japan's semiconductor industry.

        Founded in April, PDEA members, including Toyota Motor, Edwin Testing and Dai Nippon Printing, were set up to promote the standardization of power semiconductor technology. The establishment of the organization also means that Japan hopes to play a leading role in this untapped market for high voltage and high current power components. At present, the official website of PDEA is still only in Japanese, but Yoshida said that the organization does not exclude foreign members from joining.

        The international standards for power components are governed by SC47E, a subsidiary of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The organization's mission is to develop environmentally friendly methods for the design, manufacture, use and reuse of discrete semiconductor components, including terms and definitions, symbols, basic ratings and characteristics, measurement methods and methods. Specifications. PDEA does not plan to overlap with IEC's work.

        However, Yoshida, director of PDEA, stressed: "We believe that IEC's power component standardization initiative, involving semiconductor manufacturers, will be of great help to power component users (e.g. automobile manufacturers), material suppliers and test equipment manufacturers." "We intend to gather more relevant information from a wider range of industry members (beyond chip suppliers) in PDEA's open forum," he said.

        Yoshida said that in line with PDEA's emphasis on "power component users", the organization's first president should be selected from senior executives from Toyota Technology Development (TTDC), a Toyota engineering research and development think tank established in 2006, which is responsible for vehicle design and development, including the body, chassis, engine, transmission system, hybrid electric vehicle, fuel cell, electronic components, instrument system, IT system, communication system and IP design service.

        In PDEA, Yoshida said: "We hope that leading power component users like TTDC can voice and share their wish lists, including materials, quality, supply chain requirements and so on." He also pointed out that currently no test specifications have been established for power components and modules developed for high voltage/current requirements. For example, "We want to implement test procedures and establish standards and specifications for evaluating power components, so users do not have to face test results that may vary greatly depending on test equipment."