10 October 2016

X-FAB deploys high-temperature implanter to provide high-volume 6" SiC foundry

X-FAB Silicon Foundries of Erfurt, Germany - an analog/mixed-signal IC, sensor and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) foundry – says that, in collaboration with the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the PowerAmerica (the Next Generation Power Electronics National Manufacturing Innovation Institute, led by North Carolina State University), it has deployed a high-temperature implanter at its facility in Lubbock, Texas, which is said to be the world's first semiconductor foundry to support 6-inch silicon carbide (SiC) production.

Leveraging its existing, high-volume silicon production lines, X-FAB says that it can uniquely offer the economies of scale needed to encourage widespread adoption of power devices based on SiC substrates. It is hencee fully equipped to provide a responsive, market-scalable and cost-effective manufacturing capability.

X-FAB's SiC foundry also draws on the firm's reputation for serving the most challenging applications. It is expected that the automotive and industrial sectors will drive SiC uptake, and X-FAB says that this is where it has decades' of insight and experience, delivering key technologies with high degrees of differentiation.

"Through the installation and qualification of this high-temperature implanter we are now ready to support our SiC customers as they move from prototyping to volume production in 2017. This means that they will be right at the forefront of the transition of SiC to 6-inch wafers," says Andy Wilson, X-FAB Texas' director of strategic business development. "The ongoing backing of the DOE and PowerAmerica has proved instrumental in getting us to this next stage, helping X-FAB to make a major impact in relation to this exciting new technology and ensuring that its potential is fully realized," he adds.

See related items:

Monolith relocates from New York to Texas following X-FAB partnership

Monolith and X-FAB partner on SiC power diode and MOSFET production

Tags: SiC MOSFET SiC Schottky barrier diodes SiC power devices

Visit: www.xfab.com