According to Showa Denko's official website, the company has begun mass production of 6-inch (150 mm) diameter silicon carbide single wafers to be used as substrate materials for SiC epitaxial wafers for processing and mounting to SiC-based power semiconductors (SiC power semiconductors) middle.
Silicon carbide is a typical representative of the third-generation compound semiconductor. It has the advantages of high temperature resistance, high voltage resistance, high frequency, and high power. It is widely used in downstream power electronics and radio frequency.
Compared with silicon-based materials, silicon carbide materials have the advantages of wide band gap, high electron saturation drift rate, high thermal conductivity and high melting point. High temperature, high voltage, high frequency and high power semiconductor devices are widely used in new energy vehicles, photovoltaics and radio frequency fields.
Semiconductor devices cannot be directly fabricated on silicon carbide substrates. It is necessary to grow a gallium nitride or silicon carbide epitaxial layer on the substrate to obtain an epitaxial wafer, and then fabricate devices suitable for radio frequency or electronic power on the epitaxial wafer.
Showa Denko Works is an independent supplier of SiC epitaxial wafers, and has been providing first-class SiC epitaxial wafers to power device manufacturers, with a high global market share.
From 2012 to 2019, Showa Denko expanded the production capacity of silicon carbide epitaxial wafers six times. In September 2012, Showa Denko increased the production capacity of 4-inch SiC epitaxial wafers by 2.5 times to 1,500 wafers per month, and announced that it would speed up the development of 6-inch SiC epitaxial wafers.
In June 2016, Showa Denko continued to expand the production capacity of silicon carbide epitaxial wafers and started mass production of HGE (High Grade Epitaxy), with a monthly output of 3,000 wafers.
In September 2017 and January 2018, Showa Denko expanded production twice. In July 2018, Showa Denko further expanded its production capacity, increasing HGE production capacity from 5,000 pieces per month to 7,000 pieces per month.
In February 2019, Showa Denko increased the production capacity of silicon carbide epitaxial wafers to 9,000 wafers per month. In September last year, Showa Denko announced that it had signed a multi-year long-term supply contract with ROHM for SiC epitaxial wafers for power semiconductors.
In terms of substrates, Showa Denko has been considering self-produced SiC single wafers.
From 2010 to 2015, as a member of the "Future Power Electronics Technology R&D Partnership", Showa Denko participated in the "New Semiconductor Power Electronics Project Realization" hosted and commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). low carbon emissions". In addition, in 2018, Showa Denko took over the SiC wafer-related assets of Nippon Steel Sumitomo Metals Group (currently Nippon Steel Group), and has been developing technologies for mass production of SiC wafers since then.
This time, Showa Denko decided to start in-house mass production of 6-inch SiC wafers. According to it, several customers currently use SiC epitaxial wafers made from 6-inch SiC wafers produced in-house.
On the other hand, Showa Denko will continue to purchase SiC wafers from its partners in response to the rapidly growing demand for SiC epitaxial wafers from power semiconductors. Therefore, Showa Denko will diversify the sources of SiC wafers, thereby establishing a stable supply chain for SiC epitaxial wafers.