Power electronics applications including renewable energy power conversion systems along with electric vehicles (EVs) and Industrial automation systems and Telecommunication depend on power conversion systems to meet their rising demand requirements. Such industries need power conversion systems together with capabilities to handle high voltage, high temperature and high frequency operation. Power electronics systems use silicon-based semiconductors as the foundation of their operation, but these components are insufficient to handle current demands. The need for materials that exceed existing performance in voltage applications and thermal conditions as well as switching properties remains high.Temperamental WBG semiconductors SiC and GaN stand as promising alternative materials for high voltage along with high temperature and high frequency applications. SiC stands out because it combines efficient thermal conductivity with high voltage tolerance and thus is useful for power-train systems and industrial motors and power grid installations in electric vehicles. GaN devices provide quick switching behavior alongside higher electron mobility and enable use in small high-frequency power converters and solar inverters and power supplies and other applications.The investigation examines power conversion systems through which SiC and GaN semiconductors show electrically conductive properties together with thermal conductive properties. Researchers have improved the understanding of SiC MOSFETs and GaN HEMTs by exploring the efficiency and thermal analysis and switching characterization across various experimental conditions. This paper investigates SiC and GaN power conversion systems based on their performance characteristics and evaluates their application alongside silicon-based power system devices in DC-DC converters and inverters and motor drives. The research results revealed that both SiC and GaN devices surpass silicon-based devices by 4 to nearly 9 percent in terms of operating efficiency.The research considers thermal performance because SiC and GaN offer high thermal conductivity together with resistance to high-temperature degradation that surpasses silicon. The junction temperature decreases by 30-40 % under high load conditions for SiC devices whereas GaN-based devices achieve a 15-20 % improvement compared to silicon. The thermally managing GaN devices require advanced cooling methods because their thermal conductivity falls below SiC.
Keywords: Gallium Nitride (GaN), Power conversion system, Silicon Carbide (SiC), wide bandgap semiconductors
