Bosch Introduces Third-Generation SiC Semiconductors in India

Bosch has introduced its third-generation Silicon Carbide (SiC) power semiconductors to the Indian market, targeting advanced electric vehicle (EV) traction applications. These chips act as the core energy regulation mechanism within an EV's power electronics system, specifically inside the traction inverter that controls energy transfer from the battery to the electric motor.

The third-generation platform delivers approximately 20% higher operational performance compared to previous company variants to support India's scaling EV sector. For end-users, this power electronics shift increases overall battery utilization, extending vehicle driving range without requiring larger, heavier battery configurations. These efficiency adjustments optimize charging times and reduce the long-term total cost of ownership.

Strategic Investments and Global Scaling
The company has supplied more than 60 million SiC components worldwide, bringing verified power semiconductor manufacturing experience to India's electrification infrastructure. To secure supply resilience and technological continuity, the company maintains multi-billion euro capital investments geared toward expanding its global semiconductor fabrication capacity. As India expands its domestic manufacturing, localization, and electric mobility goals, the company intends to support market participants by connecting international semiconductor expertise with local ecosystem frameworks.

System Miniaturization and Market Expansion
At the hardware level, the third-generation SiC technology permits more compact and efficient power electronics enclosures by reducing internal energy losses, enhancing overall thermal performance, and lowering system complexity along with cooling circuit dependencies. Physical miniaturization serves as a primary driver for long-term cost reduction, enabling a higher volume of individual dies to be processed per semiconductor wafer.

These structural and cost adjustments alter the application scope of advanced power electronics. Previously restricted primarily to premium vehicle applications, high-performance electronics become economically viable for high-volume, mass-market EV segments where affordability, daily reliability, and energy efficiency are critical operational constraints. This introduction positions advanced semiconductor innovation to meet the scalability demands of India's developing sustainable transport sector.

Additional Context
This section details technical specifications not included in the original news release.

Silicon carbide (SiC) represents a wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor material characterized by a crystalline structure that yields superior physical attributes compared to standard silicon (Si). It features a bandgap energy of approximately 3.26 electronvolts (eV) and a critical electric field breakdown strength that is roughly ten times greater than that of conventional silicon. These parameters permit the fabrication of unipolar power MOSFETs with a significantly lower specific on-resistance, directly minimizing conduction losses within automotive powertrain architectures.

The third-generation of these devices utilizes a specialized dual-channel trench gate layout that optimizes current path cross-sections. This configuration realizes a 20% reduction in specific on-resistance compared to second-generation baselines, helping to minimize the individual semiconductor die surface area.

To optimize electrical switching characteristics during dynamic traction cycles, the device architecture addresses the structural trade-off between conduction performance and short-circuit withstand time (SCWT). It incorporates a two-zone Junction Field-Effect Transistor (JFET) region beneath the trench to provide fine-grained control over local electric field distributions.

Furthermore, a specialized p-type shield implant is positioned directly under the trench gate structure. This design element eliminates off-state electric field stress on the gate oxide layer, preventing premature dielectric degradation and ensuring long-term parameter stability across the full automotive operating temperature envelope spanning from -40°C to 200°C.

Thermal dissipation parameters are enhanced by decreasing the overall thickness of the semiconductor die by 40%, reducing the total wafer thickness down to 100 µm. Thinning the substrate decreases the internal thermal resistance layer, positioning the active junction in closer physical proximity to the copper power module leadframe and adjacent liquid-cooled heat sinks.

This optimization supports higher current density handling and reduces high-frequency switching losses by 10%. Manufacturing efficiency is further scaled by transitioning production to 200 mm (8-inch) diameter SiC wafers, which yields a higher quantity of individual semiconductor components per fabrication run to support mass-market pricing models.

Edited by Romila DSilva, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.