Ascatron secures funding for SiC product development

Ascatron develops high performance Silicon Carbide (SiC) power semiconductors using its proprietary 3DSiC technology. SiC radically reduces losses in electric power converters and lowers system costs, making it key technology for many applications such as industrial motor drives, electric vehicles and renewable energy. Ascatron focuses on the supply of bare SiC dies for power modules and discrete components. “We use advanced epitaxial growth as part of the manufacturing process of our SiC devices to form buried doped structures as voltage blocking elements. These structures protect the sensitive die surface from high electric fields and allow device designs optimized for high power ratings”, says Adolf Schöner, CTO of Ascatron, in a press release. “The key performance advantages are 15-30% higher current density and reliable operation even at elevated temperatures”. The first 3DSiC devices available for design-in projects with customers are 1200V and 1700V JBS diodes. The production process is expected to be qualified in Q4 2019. The design is modular and can be tailored to application specific requirements. MOSFETs will be ready for production in Q2 2020. “The near-term target for our SiC diodes are 1200V and 1700V power modules. Next step will be to scale-up our SiC device wafer capacity together with our production partners,” says says Christian Vieider, CEO of Ascatron.