4H Silicon Carbide (SiC) Substrates for Research & Production

university wafer substrates

4H SiC Substrate for High Frequency Operations

A Graduate Research Assistant from a ElectroScience Laboratory requested the folllowing quote:

We are interested in 2DEG and leakage characteristics of following of the listed samples.

Specifically, we need high electron density and low leakage with semi-insulating substrate for high frequency operations. (I would be interested in speaking to a technical person on this actually).

Please quote for following:

  1. 4H SiC Wafer
  2. 4H-N SiC Wafer
  3. Semi insulating 4H Si and 6H Si (Can these be used for mm-wave applications?

UniversityWafer, Inc. replied:

Yes, the properties of 4H-Silicon Carbide (4H-SiC) make it an excellent material for millimeter-wave (mm-wave) applications.

We have 100mm 4H SiC in Stock!

Reference # 214926 for specs and pricing.

Get Your Quote FAST! Or, Buy 4H SiC Online and start researching today!

4H-SiC Wafers for Photoluminescence Measurements

A Research And Development Engineer

Do you still have this 3" 4H SI with delivery time for a week?
Or what size or kind of SI 4H wafers do you have that needs
shortest lead time? Are these high purity ones that look colorless and transparent compared to n-type or p-type 4H-SiC with dark color?

We use 4H-SiC wafers for photoluminescence measurements so we care about optical loss of the wafer.

N-type wafer I purchased with dark grey color seems to have low transmission for the wavelength of the laser we're using for excitation.

I heard the color is due to the iron impurities in fabrication process. So I'm wondering if semi-insulating wafers are high purity, colorless and transparent compared to N or P type wafers.

Do SI 4H-SiC substrates look as dark in color as N-type or P-type ones? Either way, could you email me the quotation for SI 4H-SiC for 1 piece? For now, we are only interested in 4H-SiC substrates and not 6H-SiC.

UniversityWafer, Inc. Quoted:

SI 4H-SiC substrates looks light in color as n type, please see below quotation: 

3”, 4H, semi-insulating/V doped, double side polished.

2”, 4H, semi-insulating/V doped, double side polished.

Reference # 215725 for specs and pricing

4H SiC Use as Support for Additive Manufactring (3D Printing) Research

A engineer from a startup requested the following quote:

I am seeking cost and lead-times for SiC and/or SiN substrates to address an high-volume opportunity in the photonics space which requires a low-CTE material. I like to share with you that the substrate is going to be used as support structure for our Additive Manufacturing process and not to build semiconductor devices, is there an email I could send the specs of the substrate?

We are interested in “mechanical” parameters like roughness, planarity etc (see attached file) and not in electrical parameters.
What we looking for are the Si, SiC and SiN substrates with the following specs.

  1. 4” wafer with thickness of 3mm or 10mm
  2. Flatness – 0.5um
  3. Roughness – 0.4um
  4. Parallelism – 2um

Reference #253225 for specs and pricing

Why Use 4H Silicon Carbide?

Silicon Carbide (SiC) is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material that has attracted tremendous attention from industry and academia because of its promising performance for high-power and high-frequency electronics, especially in terms of its high breakdown electric field, high operating temperature, and low intrinsic carrier concentration. However, despite its excellent properties, SiC-based devices still suffer from numerous challenges owing to the difficult-to-process surface of 4H-SiC. In particular, global and local planarization of 4H-SiC wafers is one of the major bottlenecks for the mass production of high-quality SiC devices. Several methods have been developed to improve CMP performance in order to achieve high quality of SiC wafers, including chemical, mechanical and chemical-mechanical synergistic approaches.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Fabricating Semiconductor Devices Using 4H Silicon Carbide

4H silicon carbide (4H-SiC) is a crystalline material that belongs to the family of wide-bandgap semiconductors. It is a compound composed of silicon (Si) and carbon (C) atoms arranged in a hexagonal crystal lattice structure. 4H-SiC is highly valued for its unique properties, making it suitable for fabricating semiconductor devices. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of using 4H-SiC:

4H SiC Advantages:

  1. Wide Bandgap: 4H-SiC has a wide bandgap of approximately 3.26 electron volts (eV), which is significantly larger than traditional semiconductors like silicon (1.1 eV). This wide bandgap allows for higher operating temperatures, better power handling, and reduced power losses compared to silicon-based devices.

  2. High Thermal Conductivity: 4H-SiC has excellent thermal conductivity, approximately three times higher than silicon. This property enables efficient heat dissipation, which is crucial for high-power devices that generate significant heat during operation.

  3. High Breakdown Field: 4H-SiC exhibits a high electric field strength at which it can maintain its insulating properties, known as the breakdown field. This characteristic enables the fabrication of devices that can handle high voltages without breakdown or failure.

  4. High Electron Mobility: 4H-SiC has a high electron mobility, which refers to the ease at which electrons can move through the material when subjected to an electric field. High electron mobility allows for faster switching speeds and improved device performance.

4H SiC Disadvantages:

  1. Cost: Compared to silicon, 4H-SiC is more expensive to produce. The manufacturing processes and equipment required for fabricating 4H-SiC devices are currently more costly, limiting its widespread adoption in some applications.

  2. Crystal Defects: The growth of large, high-quality 4H-SiC crystals can be challenging, leading to the presence of crystal defects. These defects can affect the performance and reliability of semiconductor devices fabricated from 4H-SiC.

  3. Limited Infrastructure: The infrastructure for processing and handling 4H-SiC is not as developed as that for silicon. This lack of infrastructure can pose challenges in terms of equipment availability and manufacturing capabilities.

Despite these disadvantages, 4H-SiC offers significant advantages over silicon in certain applications, especially in high-power, high-temperature, and high-frequency devices. Ongoing research and development efforts aim to address the limitations and further enhance the performance and cost-effectiveness of 4H-SiC-based semiconductor devices.

4H Silicon Carbide Applications

4H Silicon Carbide (SiC), polytype is an advanced semiconductor material with several beneficial properties, such as high hardness, high thermal conductivity, and a wide bandgap. These properties make it ideal for many different applications, especially in electronics. Here are five examples:

  • Power Devices: Due to its high breakdown electric field, SiC is highly suited for use in power devices. The substrate allows the creation of high-voltage, high-frequency devices like Schottky diodes, MOSFETs, and IGBTs, which can function at high temperatures and voltages and are used in applications like electric vehicles, renewable energy converters, and power supplies.
  • LEDs: The wide bandgap of 4H-SiC makes it a suitable material for blue and ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and diode lasers. These LEDs are used in various industries, including entertainment, medical, and security.
  • RF Devices: 4H-SiC is used to produce radio frequency (RF) devices. These include RF power amplifiers in cellular base stations and radar systems due to the material's high thermal conductivity, breakdown voltage, and saturation velocity.
  • High-Temperature Sensors: The stability of 4H-SiC at high temperatures makes it ideal for producing high-temperature electronics and sensors. These sensors are commonly employed in harsh environments such as oil and gas drilling, aerospace, and automotive applications.
  • Automotive Electronics: With its high thermal conductivity and temperature durability, 4H-SiC is a perfect fit for automotive electronics, especially in electric and hybrid vehicles. It is utilized in high-power converters, onboard battery chargers, and power control units, enhancing the overall efficiency of these systems.

How is Silicon Carbide Used as a Support Substrate for Additive Manufacturing?

Silicon Carbide (SiC) is used in additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, primarily as a support substrate or build platform due to its excellent thermal and mechanical properties. Here's how:

  1. Thermal Stability and Heat Resistance: SiC has a very high melting point and excellent thermal stability, making it an ideal material for supporting the high-temperature processes often used in additive manufacturing, such as selective laser sintering (SLS), selective laser melting (SLM), and direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). The thermal conductivity of SiC is also superior to many materials, allowing it to efficiently dissipate the heat generated during the printing process, thereby preventing warping or deformation of the printed parts.
  2. Rigidity and Durability: SiC is a hard and strong material that can withstand the mechanical stresses of additive manufacturing processes and is especially important in processes that involve the repeated application of layers of material.
  3. Surface Quality: SiC can be manufactured and machined to a high surface smoothness and flatness level and is important in additive manufacturing because the surface quality of the build platform can influence the quality of the first layer of the printed object, which in turn can affect the quality of the final product.
  4. Chemical Resistance: SiC is chemically inert and does not react easily with other substances, so it won't react with printed materials or the gases often used in additive manufacturing processes. It also resists wear and erosion, which can increase the lifespan of the build platform.

While SiC is a promising material for these applications, its relatively high cost and the complexity of manufacturing SiC parts can be challenges that need to be overcome for widespread adoption in additive manufacturing.