TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese third-generation semiconductor firms could see new opportunities as the silicon carbide industry approaches a structural turning point, projected for 2027 by China-based brokerage GF Securities, CTEE reported Thursday.
SiC, a specialized semiconductor material, handles heat and electricity more efficiently than conventional silicon, making it suitable for high-power, high-temperature applications. Current uses include electric vehicle inverters and charging systems, 5G base stations, solar inverters, and advanced semiconductor packaging, according to Sinotrade.
Institutional investors observed that capital has begun positioning ahead of the anticipated market shift. Taiwanese suppliers such as Episil Technologies and its subsidiary Episil-Precision, as well as upstream wafer material providers like GlobalWafers, have attracted attention.
GF Securities forecasts that SiC demand will enter a structural upswing in 2027, driven by emerging applications in artificial intelligence data center power systems, AI smart glasses, and advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
In data centers, as companies such as Nvidia push high-voltage server designs, power delivery is expected to move from individual servers to centralized systems. SiC components will be essential for new transformers and converters, expected to roll out around mid-2027.
For display technology, SiC’s lightweight nature, high refractive index, and low optical loss make it increasingly valuable for high-end modules in AI-powered smart glasses. In semiconductor fabrication, TSMC plans to implement backside power delivery networks (BSPDN) with its A16 process in 2027.
As chips shrink to nanometer and even angstrom scales, traditional front-side power delivery networks face voltage drops and performance bottlenecks. BSPDN addresses this by supplying power from the back of the chip through shorter, thicker, and more stable paths, becoming essential for advanced 2 nm-plus processes and high-power AI chips.
During fabrication, device wafers must be temporarily bonded to SiC carrier wafers for backside processing. As advanced-node wafers become extremely thin, SiC carriers provide critical structural support, yield stability, and heat dissipation.
GF Securities estimates additional SiC demand of roughly 4.1 million 6-inch wafers in 2027, representing about 75% of the projected global supply in 2026. With supply growth constrained, the market is expected to shift from recent oversupply conditions to a structurally tighter balance, potentially benefiting Taiwanese companies across the supply chain.
Episil Technologies, a leading provider of compound semiconductor foundry services, specializes in gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, and SiC. Its subsidiary, Episil-Precision, focuses on silicon and compound semiconductor substrate production, offering expertise in SiC and GaN substrates and standing out as one of the few Taiwanese firms with full substrate manufacturing capabilities.
GlobalWafers, a top global silicon wafer supplier, is actively expanding into the SiC market through strategic partnerships. Other Taiwanese players include Mosel Vitelic, which designs and manufactures power semiconductors and is actively developing SiC power components; Taiwan-Asia Semiconductor, a packaging and testing company; Niko Semiconductor, which supplies SiC processing equipment; and Sinopower, a materials supplier in the compound semiconductor sector.
