Silicon carbide semiconductors from Bosch
Bosch offers a comprehensive silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor portfolio for the mobility industry, including SiC power MOSFETs and SiC power modules designed for inverters, on-board chargers, and DC/DC converters. These solutions are available globally to OEMs, Tier1 suppliers, and distributors, both as bare dies and discrete components in various standard packaging formats. In addition, we offer OEMs and Tiers unrivalled flexibility as we tailor our SiC chips to their requirements regarding layout, electrical performance, and processing. Explore Bosch's SiC power semiconductor solutions and discover how our innovative technologies can enhance your high power applications.
The role of silicon carbide semiconductors in modern automotive power electronics
Low-loss power semiconductors are crucial for maximizing energy efficiency in modern vehicle electronics. Especially in high-power applications in electric vehicles, SiC power electronics are gaining ground. Compared to conventional silicon-based chips, silicon carbide semiconductors provide superior electrical conductivity, faster switching speeds, and higher overall efficiency, resulting in reduced energy loss and lower cooling requirements. This makes them a preferred choice for next-generation power electronics.
The manufacturing process for SiC power electronics is highly complex, requiring an ultra-pure environment and involving more than ten mask/structure levels with over 300 process steps. Bosch has developed an own manufacturing process for its SiC chips, for which we adapted our own trench-etch process. It allows to etch high-precision vertical structures in the wafer material, further increasing the power density of the chips.
With over 20 years of experience in the field of automotive MOSFETs and SiC, Bosch has been mass-producing generation 1 of its silicon carbide chips on 150 mm wafers in Reutlingen since the end of 2021 and is currently transferring generation 2 to 200 mm. We have been producing samples of the first generation 2 SiC chips on 200 mm wafers in Reutlingen since June 2024 for customer trials and are currently preparing to ramp up series production of generation 2 on 200 mm in Reutlingen.
Bosch plans to manufacture first generation 2 silicon carbide chips on 200 mm wafers for customer trials in Roseville, California, starting in 2026, and to prepare for the ramp-up of series production.
How Bosch creates a stable supply chain for automotive silicon carbide semiconductors
To secure a stable supply of SiC semiconductors, Bosch is systematically expanding its manufacturing capacities in Germany and the U.S. Our goal is to increase the delivery volume more than tenfold in the coming years, strengthening supply chain resilience and supporting local markets – making us a trusted partner for the mobility industry.
