Littelfuse, Inc. has completed the acquisition of Monolith Semiconductor, Inc., a start-up company based in Round Rock, Texas and specializing in the development of silicon carbide power device technology. Littelfuse began partnering with Monolith in 2015 and has progressively increased its ownership following a series of technical and commercial product release milestones achieved over the last three years.

“Completing the acquisition of Monolith Semiconductor is an important part of our growth strategy as we expand our capabilities to serve the growing power electronics market,” said Ian Highley, Littelfuse Senior Vice President and General Manager, Semiconductor Products and Chief Technology Officer.

“Adding silicon carbide technology allows us to evolve our portfolio with strategically relevant and innovative products. We are already seeing meaningful design activity for commercially released products across our regions, with significant interest for industrial and automotive applications,” concluded Highley.

Silicon carbide is a rapidly emerging semiconductor material that enables power devices to operate at higher switching frequencies and temperatures versus conventional silicon. This allows inverters and other power electronics systems to be built with significantly improved density, energy efficiency and cost.

Littelfuse introduced its first commercial silicon carbide Schottky diode in May 2017, followed by its first commercial silicon carbide MOSFET in October 2017. To date, the company has released for mass production more than 20 silicon carbide p