EpiWorld qualifies AIXTRON G5 WW C system for SiC ramp-up

The China-based SiC epitaxial service foundry seeks to further expand its production capacity to meet the increasing demand by customers. The company has already completed production lines for 4- and 6-inch SiC epi-wafers for making 650 Volt-, 1,200 Volt- and 1,700 Volt-power devices. A recently completed manufacturing center provides space for rapid expansion to 400'000 6-inch epi wafers per year. EpiWorld currently has a capacity of over 60'000 pc/yr. “In recent years, we have been qualified as a leading supplier of SiC epi-wafers for power devices by various players in the automotive sector and therefore, have a strong footprint in one of the most challenging industries. As we and our customers have high quality standards, we rely on AIXTRON’s proven system technology and are ready to move into high-volume production of our SiC epitaxial components with the AIX G5 WW C,” says Dr. Feng, General Manager of EpiWorld, in a press release. “The SiC epi reactor in the AIX G5 WW C system of AIXTRON combines the performance of a single-wafer system with the cost advantages of a multi-wafer reactor. The system guarantees EpiWorld highest throughput in the industry at lowest production cost, while enabling excellent production quality,” Dr. Feng adds. The market of SiC epi-wafers for power devices is a fast growing market. The high efficiency of silicon carbide power devices allows for energy savings, heat reduction, weight and system size reduction and as a result of this overall lower system costs. This predestines them for use in areas such as electric vehicles (EVs), EV charging stations as well as renewable energy applications such as solar and wind power converters. “We are delighted to achieve the important production qualification milestone with one of the leading epi foundries with our new SiC platform to accelerate the further commercialisation of silicon carbide,” says Dr. Frank Wischmeyer, Vice President Marketing Power Electronics of AIXTRON SE, and adds: “Our customer EpiWorld is well positioned to address the fast growing market of SiC power devices in the Chinese automotive industry and beyond. The enlarged production capabilities at EpiWorld will support the development of numerous high- end power electronics applications serving megatrends such as e-mobility or renewable energy”.