The need to minimize losses in power electronic systems has led to the recent boost in silicon carbide (SiC) power technology. Superior properties of SiC such as high critical electric field, high saturation drift velocity, and high thermal conductivity make this material ideally suited for high voltage high power applications. The voltage spectrum of the potential applications where SiC power rectifiers and switches are expected to replace their silicon counterparts ranges from tens of volts for display drives to tens of kilovolts for traction applications and high voltage dc transmission (HVDC) systems. Despite the fundamental material advantages of SiC over the other well-established semiconductor materials such as Si and GaAs, new designs and fabrication techniques are still to be developed to fully realize the inherent potential of SiC devices in high-power switching applications. In this work, a detailed review of the current situation and future trends in SiC power switching device technology is given with an emphasis on design and processing issues. This paper discusses the recent development of power SiC switches and identifies the key issues in processing and device structures which have influenced past and will impact future SiC product development.