STMicroelectronics and Soitec announced the next stage of their cooperation on Silicon Carbide (SiC) substrates, with the qualification of Soitec's SiC substrate technology by ST planned over the next 18 months. The goal of this cooperation is the adoption by ST of Soitec's SmartSiC technology for its future 200mm substrate manufacturing, feeding its devices and modules manufacturing business, with volume production expected in the midterm. Silicon Carbide (SiC) is a disruptive compound semiconductor material with intrinsic properties providing superior performance and efficiency over silicon in key, high-growth power applications for electric mobility and industrial processes, among others. It allows for more efficient power conversion, lighter and more compact
designs, and overall system-design cost savings - all key parameters and factors for success in automotive and industrial systems. Transitioning from 150mm to 200mm wafers will enable a substantial capacity increase, with almost twice the useful area for manufacturing integrated circuits, delivering 1.8 - 1.9 times as many working chips per wafer. SmartSiC is a proprietary Soitec technology which uses Soitec proprietary SmartCut technology, to split a thin layer of a high quality SiC 'donor' wafer, and bond it on top of a low resistivity 'handle' polySiC wafer. The engineered substrate then improves device performance and manufacturing yields. The prime quality SiC 'donor' wafer can be reused multiple times, significantly reducing the overall energy consumption required to produce it.