Showa Denko KK Begins Mass Production of 6-inch Monocrystalline Silicon Wafers

Showa Denko KK (SDK) (TOKYO: 4004) has launched the mass production of single crystal silicon carbide wafers (SiC wafers) with a diameter of 6 inches (150 mm), which are used as materials for wafers epitaxial SiC^*1to be processed and installed in SiC-based power semiconductors (SiC power semiconductors).

SiC power semiconductor has excellent heat resistance property and high withstand voltage much better than conventional silicon-based power semiconductors, which are the mainstream of power semiconductors at present. . The SiC power semiconductor contributes to the improvement of energy efficiency and downsizing of the power module. Therefore, the demand for SiC power semiconductors is increasing rapidly in various fields, especially those for xEVs, railcars, and industrial equipment.

As an independent supplier of SiC epitaxial wafers, SDK holds the largest global market share and provides power device manufacturers with best-in-class SiC epitaxial wafers. Therefore, SDK’s SiC epitaxial wafers are highly valued by electrical appliance manufacturers in Japan and abroad.

SDK considered the in-house production of SiC wafers, which are used as the main material for SiC epitaxial wafers, with the aim of improving the quality of our SiC epitaxial wafers and establishing a stable supply system for them. . From 2010 to 2015, SDK participated in the “Novel Semiconductor Power Electronics Project Realizing Low Carbon Emission Society ^*2“, which was hosted and entrusted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), as a member of the “Research and of development for future power electronics technology^*3.” In addition, in 2018, SDK took over the SiC wafer related assets of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Group (now Nippon Steel Group)^*4and has since been developing technologies for the mass production of SiC wafers.

This time, SDK decided to start in-house mass production of 6 inch SiC wafers because several customers have adopted SDK’s epitaxial SiC wafers made from our in-house produced 6 inch SiC wafers. On the other hand, SDK will continue to purchase SiC wafers from our partners to meet the growing demand for epitaxial SiC wafers for power semiconductors. Thus, SDK will diversify sources of SiC wafers, thereby establishing a stable supply chain for epitaxial SiC wafers.

• *1“SiC epitaxial wafer” is a semiconductor material, made from SiC wafer by depositing a thin layer of epitaxial SiC on the surface of the wafer.
• *2“Novel Semiconductor Power Electronics Project Realizing Low Carbon Emission Society” is a project to establish a technology for realizing a stable supply of large-diameter SiC wafers. In 2010, this project was launched and entrusted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and in 2011, the contracting authority for this project was transferred to the Organization for the Development of New Energies and Industrial Technologies (NEDO).
• *3“Research and Development Partnership for Future Power Electronics Technology” is an association established as a joint organization of academy, industry and government to raise the technical level regarding next-generation power electronics.
• *4For more details on this, please refer to SDK’s press release, “Showa Denko Acquires Assets Concerning SiC for Power Devices from Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Group”, which was announced on August 7, 2017.

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Showa Denko KK published this content on March 28, 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unmodified, on March 28, 2022 02:40:04 UTC.