Nippon Steel Makes High Quality SiC Single Crystal Wafer

Nippon Steel announced on Thursday the firm succeeded to reduce micropipe defect of silicon carbide (SiC) single crystal wafer with 100 millimeter diameter to world lowest level at Advanced Technology Research Laboratories in Chiba. The firm starts the sample shipment for users in second half of fiscal 2007 started April. The firm tries to commercialize the material when SiC single crystal wafer is expected to be used for next generation semiconductor of inverter devices, power module of appliances and semiconductor element of electric car. SiC, which is material for compound semiconductor, has 10 times of dielectric breakdown electric field intensity and 3 times of thermal conductivity compared with silicone. SiC single crystal wafer has higher heat resistance and voltage resistance than silicone wafer and could reduce power loss to less than a tenth of silicon wafer. Nippon Steel succeeded to reduce the defect by optimizing the process control including temperature distribution during the crystal making. The firm can make the crystal with one micropipe defect per square centimeter. The micropipe defect causes electricity trouble and the crystal with fewer defects could be better semiconductor. The firm tries to market the material for industrial inverter devices, appliance, hybrid car and other applications. The firm estimates the targeted power devices market is annual 200 billion yen worldwide.