The silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor market will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42% from 2014 to $3182.89m in 2020, according to a new report from MarketsandMarkets (‘Silicon carbide (SiC) in semiconductor market by technology, product, and application (Automotive, Defense, Computers, Consumer Electronics, ICT, Industrial, Medical, Railways, and Solar), by geography - forecast and analysis to 2013 – 2020’).

Semiconductor devices based on silicon carbide such as high-power and high-temperature devices are useful in harsh conditions, notes the report. Silicon-based semiconductor devices are slowly exiting the market and being replaced aggressively with more powerful silicon carbide, it adds.

The growth in SiC-based devices is due mainly to the fact that it has found its application in the high-voltage power electronics market (generally above 1kV). Sectors such as industrial and power hence account for a major share of SiC-based device revenue. The automotive and transportation sectors (including electric vehicle, railways, and airways) are also expected to be huge potential application for silicon carbide.

The overall silicon carbide based semiconductor market is segmented into four major segments - technology, products, applications, and geography. All the segments are separately classified in the report. The silicon carbide based semiconductor market is expected to grow by 2020, at an estimated CAGR of 42.03% from 2014 to 2020.

The market in APAC (China and India etc, excluding Japan) is the largest geographic sector by revenue, followed by North America and Europe, respectively. Japan (considered to the birth place of silicon carbide) accounted for 13.83% of the total SiC-based semiconductor market in terms of value in 2013.

Players cited in the report as being involved in the development of the SiC-based semiconductor market include Cree Inc, Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc, Genesic Semiconductor Inc, Microsemi Corp and Norstel AB in the USA, Infineon Technologies AG in Germany, Renesas Electronics Corp, ROHM Co Ltd and Toshiba Corp in Japan, and STMicroelectronics N.V. in Switzerland.