Silicon Carbide
A wide-bandgap semiconductor that switches high voltages efficiently. Listed by the US DOE as a critical material for energy.
SiC power devices in solid-state transformers, high-voltage DC data-center power, inverters and EV chargers.
Who calls it critical
Membership on each government list. “Strategic” marks a higher tier where the list has one; “group” means included as part of a group such as rare earths or PGMs.
Silicon Carbide: key questions
- Where is silicon carbide mined or produced?
- Country-level production data for Silicon Carbide is limited or withheld in USGS statistics.
- Is silicon carbide a critical mineral?
- Silicon Carbide appears on 1 of the 10 official lists we track (United States (DOE)).
- Is silicon carbide in short supply?
- Our supply status: Watch. null
- Why does silicon carbide matter for AI infrastructure?
- SiC power devices in solid-state transformers, high-voltage DC data-center power, inverters and EV chargers.
Related minerals
ExplorerGallium
TightA by-product of aluminum refining that becomes gallium nitride (GaN) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) — the materials of power electronics, RF chips and lasers.
Indium
TightA soft by-product metal used in touchscreens (ITO) and in indium phosphide — the compound semiconductor behind many high-speed optical lasers.
Germanium
TightA semiconductor metal recovered from zinc and coal ash, essential for fiber-optic cores, infrared optics and high-speed SiGe chips.