Silicon Carbide has advantageous material properties for semiconductor power devices.

High breakdown field (2.4 MV/cm)
SiC has a high breakdown electric field that enables the fabrication of small, low-resistive and fast switching high-voltage, high-power devices. The breakdown field is about ten times higher than in silicon.

High thermal conductivity (4 W/cm•K)
SiC has nearly three times as high thermal conductivity compared to silicon. SiC devices are therefore able to operate at extremely high power levels whilst efficiently dissipating the generated excess heat.

Wide bandgap (3.2 eV)
The wide band gap of SiC opens up for SiC devices to be used at very high temperatures, which is of great importance when performing down hole drilling for example. Due to the wide band gap of Silicon Carbide, power transistors manufactured in this material are equally quite resistant to radiation.

Electrically robust
Due to the above mentioned qualities, transistors in SiC are electrically very robust. The ability to operate at high temperatures enables them to withstand short circuit operation or over load conditions for longer times. Power transistors made out of SiC have a positive temperature coefficient, which makes them free from the troublesome secondary breakdown.

High saturated electron drift velocity
The high saturated electron drift velocity of SiC allows for SiC devices to operate at high frequencies, which is beneficial for certain industrial and military applications.