News: Suppliers
22 May 2024
Soitec and Tokai Carbon to co-develop poly-SiC substrates for SmartSiC wafers
Engineered substrate manufacturer Soitec of Bernin, near Grenoble, France and carbon and graphite product maker Tokai Carbon of Tokyo, Japan have entered into a strategic partnership for the development and supply of polycrystalline silicon carbide substrates specifically designed for Soitec SmartSiC wafers.
SmartSiC engineered substrates are targeted at accelerating the adoption of silicon carbide for electric mobility, industrial and smart grid applications by delivering superior manufacturing and cost efficiencies with an improved environmental footprint.
Under the partnership, which will see Tokai Carbon supply 150mm and 200mm poly-SiC wafers to Soitec, the two companies aim to harness their R&D capabilities to enhance the SmartSiC ecosystem. Tokai Carbon’s technology and manufacturing capacity in polycrystalline silicon carbide (polySiC) combined with the right to use Soitec specifications for polySiC coarse wafers compliant with Soitec SmartSiC is expected to make a strategic contribution to the global ramp-up of SmartSiC wafer production.
“This partnership with Tokai marks yet another key step in the ramp-up of Soitec’s SmartSiC technology to address fast-growing markets such as electric mobility and industrial electrification,” says Soitec’s chief operations officer Cyril Menon. “Tokai’s top-quality SiC products and R&D capabilities, combined with Soitec’s innovative SmartSiC technology, can help to accelerate global adoption of electric mobility and other SiC technologies. This is an important milestone in terms of perception and value creation for the SmartSiC ecosystem,” he reckons.
“The polycrystalline SiC substrate to be supplied to Soitec is a strategic product in our solid SiC product series,” says Tokai Carbon’s CEO Hajime Nagasaka. “We have high expectations for this product in the SiC semiconductor market, which is expected to expand significantly in the future,” he adds. “The partnership with Soitec is also very meaningful in terms of contributing to the realization of a sustainable society.”
