The U.S. Army chose Navitas to develop 10,000-volt devices for military systems. - Stock Titan

Semiconductors

U.S. Army Taps Navitas for 10,000-Volt Power Device Development

The U.S. Army has selected Navitas Semiconductor to develop 10,000-volt power devices for military systems, moving the GaN and SiC supplier into a voltage class above today's commercial wide-bandgap parts.

By
Sophie Lindqvist
Filed
Channel
Semiconductors
Read
3 min read

The U.S. Army has selected Navitas Semiconductor to develop 10,000-volt power devices for military systems, according to a report from Stock Titan. The award directs the gallium nitride and silicon carbide supplier toward a voltage class that sits well above the operating range of today's commercial wide-bandgap semiconductors, where discrete GaN devices typically top out below roughly 1,000 volts and commercial SiC MOSFETs generally reach into the low thousands.

The engagement makes Navitas one of the few merchant power-semiconductor vendors working at the 10-kV threshold for a defense customer. Devices at that voltage class matter for military platforms because they enable lighter, more efficient power conversion in applications such as radar, directed-energy systems, electric propulsion, and high-voltage distribution networks — areas where reducing the size and weight of power electronics directly expands mission capability. Stock Titan's report did not disclose the contract value, quantity targets, or delivery timeline.

For Navitas, the award extends a portfolio strategy built on two product families: GaNFast gallium nitride power ICs aimed at consumer fast chargers and data-center power, and GeneSiC silicon carbide devices aimed at electric vehicles, solar inverters, and industrial systems. The company has positioned military and aerospace applications as an expansion vector for its wide-bandgap technology, and a 10-kV development program gives it a reference point in a segment where qualification barriers are high and incumbents are few.

The Defense Department has widened its procurement of commercial semiconductor technology in recent years as it seeks shorter design cycles and access to process innovation driven by consumer and automotive volumes. High-voltage wide-bandgap devices are a particular focus, because GaN and SiC can switch faster and withstand higher fields than silicon, allowing power stages that shrink magnetics and capacitors — the components that dominate the weight of a military power system.

Cree's Wolfspeed, onsemi, Infineon, and STMicroelectronics dominate the merchant SiC market, but none sells a standard 10-kV discrete product at scale; devices at that level have largely remained in research programs and custom defense builds. If Navitas qualifies a 10-kV device for Army systems, it would hold a differentiated position that merchant competitors do not currently occupy.

The report leaves key commercial parameters open. Stock Titan did not specify whether the Army engagement is a funded development contract, a sole-source award, or part of a broader program of record, and it gave no indication of the wafer size or process platform — 150mm or 200mm SiC, or a GaN-on-silicon variant — that Navitas would use to reach the 10-kV target. The company has not yet published financial guidance tied to the award.

Investors will watch whether the Army program converts into a production order with named volumes, and whether the 10-kV technology spills over into adjacent markets such as grid-scale power electronics and medium-voltage motor drives, where higher-voltage wide-bandgap devices could displace silicon IGBTs and reshape competitive dynamics across the power-semiconductor market.

Source: Google News: semiconductors

Share this article:

More from Sophie Lindqvist

Sophie Lindqvist

Show full bio

News editor covering business strategy at Chip Dispatch.

53 articles

Related articles

« Previous articleNext article »