International Technology Roadmap for Wide Bandgap Power Semiconductors: A Five Year Review [Expert View]

The predictions of the five-year hori- zon from ITRW 2019 have shown to be generally accurate, and in particu- lar the identified “killer application” of SiC devices in transport electrifi- cation and GaN devices in charging and consumer electronics have become a reality. The market predic- tions have been surpassed in the case of WBG power semiconductors, with SiC in particular making exten- sive inroads into many application areas for voltages above 650 V. The ITRW roadmap still provides signifi- cant value in guiding ongoing and future research, and the questions used in ITRW 2019 are still valid when looking ahead to the next five-, 10- and 20-year horizons. Finally, in thinking about lessons from the road-mapping process, the biggest takeaway from the ITRW experience is less about the accuracy of the pre- dictions (although so far they have turned out to be pretty good!), and more about bringing the power elec- tronics community together to work towards a common goal across dif- ferent technology and geographical areas. This has resulted in us achiev- ing a unity of purpose in building a community and sharing results across our society for the benefit of our society membership and the wider power electronics field as a whole.