NI (formerly National Instruments) has announced the acquisition of Germany's SET, a long-standing manufacturer of aerospace and defence test systems that has recently expanded into reliability testing of power semiconductors in SiC and GaN technologies.

Together, the two companies expect to reduce time-to-market for differentiated solutions for the testing of silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitrite (GaN) power semiconductors. NI first announced a strategic minority investment in SET in 2020 to help aerospace and defence companies address soaring development costs and integration challenges.

These collaborative efforts will continue with a focus on sustainable civil aviation, space launch vehicles and urban air mobility applications. Going forward, the acquisition will expand NI's opportunities in automotive power semiconductor reliability systems, a high growth investment area.

"By offering new dynamic test procedures, SET ensures the qualification of silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors for the automotive industry with high accuracy and reliability," explains Frank Heidemann, SET's founder.

"The automotive supply chain is going through a transformation where OEMs and semiconductor players are rapidly innovating on new technologies. The ability to adequately specify and predict the behaviour of these new technologies within new electric vehicles is critical for performance and safety. SET is a clear innovator in this area as well as an established supplier in the field of avionics testing. NI is a world leader in automated test and measurement systems. By combining their capabilities, NI and SET can offer more differentiated solutions to customers and grow together by leveraging NI's global scale," added Ritu Favre, executive vice president of NI.

SET specialises in hardware-in-the-loop (HiL), functional and power semiconductor test systems and electronics development for the aerospace industry. SET is headquartered in Wangen, Germany, and employs approximately 100 people who will join NI.