Nippon Steel Starts to Supply SiC Wafer for Power Device

Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC) announced on Thursday the firm’s subsidiary, Nippon Steel Materials enters silicon carbide (SiC) wafer market. NSC prepared production capacity of 400 SiC wafers per month in Yorii plant, Saitama, Japan with approximately 1 billion yen capex. NSC will start commercial production and sales of SiC wafer on 1 April. SiC wafers are used as substrates of power devices. Power devices are necessary for such applications as electric power generation, electric power transformation and motor drives.

NSC plans to expand production capacity to above 1,000 SiC wafers per month in 2-3 years with an expectation the market of power device using SiC wafer could grow up. The firm targets annual revenue at approximately 10 billion yen around 2015.

NSC can supply SiC wafers with 2-inch, 3-inch and 4-inch diameters. NSC became the first Japanese company that succeeded in commercial production of 4-inch SiC wafers. NSC already launched 6-inch SiC wafer development to start sample product shipment in 2011. The firm forecasts 6-inch SiC wafer would become a main size around 2012.

SiC excels in hardness, heat resistance and chemical stability. Single crystal SiC wafers are used as substrates for power semiconductor power devices. Semiconductor power devices are adopted to high voltage, high current and high temperature circumstances.

SiC wafer market for power devices is expected to reach $ 297 million in 2015, about 20 times from $ 16 million in 2008. Power device market using SiC wafers could expand to $ 823 million in 2015, about 30 times from $ 24 million in 2008.