News: Microelectronics
30 June 2020
II-VI licenses GE’s SiC power electronics technology
Engineered materials and optoelectronic component maker II-VI Inc of Saxonburg, PA, USA – which manufactures silicon carbide (SiC) substrates – has signed an agreement to license from General Electric technology for manufacturing silicon carbide (SiC) devices and modules for power electronics.
The rapid growth in electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy, microgrids and power supplies for data storage and communications is driving the strong demand for SiC-based power electronics, notes II-VI. Compared with state-of-the-art silicon-based devices, silicon carbide achieves superior efficiency, higher energy density and lower system-level cost per watt. Power electronics based on SiC have demonstrated their potential to have a highly beneficial impact on the environment via significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption, adds the firm.
“We believe that SiC-based power electronics materials and components will become increasingly deployed in electrification systems including, for example, in electric vehicles, industrial infrastructure, and large datacenters, and so we continue to invest to position II-VI in strategic points of the evolving supply chains to enable key customers,” says II-VI’s CEO Dr Vincent D. Mattera Jr. “As such, we intend to remain focused on executing our recently announced plan to scale our capacity of 150mm SiC materials by 5-10x while scaling volume production of a differentiated 200mm materials technology to meet the anticipated growing demand over the next five years,” he adds.
The agreement “positions II-VI well to capitalize on the growing market demand for SiC-based electronics,” says Joe Krisciunas, president of GE Aviation Electrical Power Systems. “At the same time, it will broaden GE’s commercial reach beyond the industry sectors we already serve with SiC technology.”
GE and its industrial businesses, led by Aviation, continue to develop next-generation silicon carbide for new applications. The business offers electrical power products with power levels from kilowatts to megawatts for harsh environments in aerospace, industrial, and military applications.
II-VI signs multi-year agreement of over $100m to supply SiC substrates
