STMicroelectronics and Soitec work together to develop Silicon Carbide substrate Manufacturing Technology: to create 8-inch SiC Wafers
CTOnews.com, December 22 (Xinhua)-- Italian Semiconductor (ST) and semiconductor material design and manufacturing company Soitec have announced the next phase of cooperation on silicon carbide (SiC) substrates, which will allow STMicroelectronics to complete prenatal certification testing of Soitec silicon carbide substrate technology within the next 18 months. The goal of this cooperation is to use Soitec's SmartSiC technology to manufacture future 8-inch silicon carbide substrates to promote the company's silicon carbide device and module manufacturing business and achieve mass production in the medium term.
Silicon carbide (SiC) is a subversive compound semiconductor material. In important high-growth power applications in electric vehicles and industrial processes, the inherent properties of silicon carbide make silicon carbide devices superior to silicon-based semiconductors in performance and energy efficiency. CTOnews.com learned that silicon carbide can achieve more efficient power conversion, more compact lightweight design, and save overall system design costs-all of which are key parameters and elements for the success of automotive and industrial systems. Upgrading from a 6-inch wafer to an 8-inch wafer can almost double the available area for the manufacture of integrated circuits, with 1.8-1.9 times the effective output per wafer, thus significantly increasing production capacity.
SmartSiC is a proprietary technology of Soitec, based on Soitec's proprietary SmartCut technology, cutting a thin layer from a high-quality silicon carbide donor wafer and bonding it to the surface of the low-resistance polysilicon wafer to be processed. The machined substrate can effectively improve the performance and manufacturing yield of the chip. In addition, high-quality silicon carbide donor wafers can be reused many times, so the total energy consumption of donor processing can be greatly reduced.
