Imagine a semiconductor that’s hard like diamond, works at temperatures hotter than Venus, and can form complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor transistors just like the ones in silicon computer chips. That’s silicon carbide. Carbide Radio is pioneering a silicon carbide technology that will power the RF front-ends of cellular networks—a multi-billion-dollar industry.
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Albert Kumar
Albert Kumar is the founder and CEO of Carbide Radio, a semiconductor company building novel silicon carbide radio frequency microchips with unprecedented performance. Prior to Carbide Radio, Kumar held various semiconductor industry roles including technology development, chip design, and sales at companies like Qualcomm and Xfab. He has a B.S. in electrical engineering from UCLA.
TECHNOLOGY
Critical Need
In 2024, total mobile data traffic was 124 exabytes (1 billion gigabytes). By 2030, this number is forecasted to grow to 303 exabytes. To enable these data loads, the semiconductors that power the radio frequency (RF) front-ends of cellular infrastructure will need to improve: higher power handling, lower losses, and more environmental ruggedness than existing, conventional semiconductors. Additionally, these semiconductors should be fully sourced and made in the United States to increase national security.
Technology Vision
Handling high RF signal power with low losses is an important requirement for improved network coverage and faster data rates. Existing semiconductor technologies are mostly silicon-based or gallium-based, yet both of these technologies have limitations. Silicon-based technologies, including silicon-on-insulator, cannot handle high power. Gallium-based technologies can handle high power, but are expensive and require additional chips for control/interface. In addition, gallium is significantly foreign-sourced, increasing cost and opening up national security concerns. Carbide Radio’s silicon carbide microchips handle higher power than gallium-based ones, are highly integrated just like silicon-based technologies, and are fully sourced within the United States.
Potential for Impact
As the demands for mobile data continue to increase, it becomes increasingly important to improve the semiconductor chips used in cellular infrastructure. Carbide Radio is at the forefront of creating a silicon carbide semiconductor technology with superior performance and lower cost. Our chips will enable faster over-the-air data rates and higher area coverage. Additionally, Carbide Radio’s chips will be manufactured and sourced completely within the United States, resulting in benefits to national security and the domestic economy.
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Carbide Radio