X-FAB and Soitec team to offer SmartSiC at Lubbock plant in Texas

Analog/mixed-signal integrated circuit, sensor, micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) and specialty semiconductor foundry X-FAB Silicon Foundries SE of Tessenderlo, Belgium and engineered substrate manufacturer Soitec of Bernin, near Grenoble, France are to begin work to offer Soitec’s SmartSiC wafers for the production of silicon carbide power devices at X-FAB’s plant in Lubbock, Texas.

The collaboration follows completion of the assessment phase, during which silicon carbide (SiC) power devices were manufactured at X-FAB Texas on 150mm SmartSiC wafers. Soitec will offer X-FAB’s customers easy access to the SmartSiC substrate through a joint supply chain consignment model.

SmartSiC is a proprietary technology based on Soitec’s SmartCut process, in which a thin layer of a high-quality monocrystalline (mono-SiC) ‘donor’ wafer is split off and bonded to a low-resistivity polycrystalline (poly-SiC) ‘handle’ wafer. The resulting substrate offers improved device performance and manufacturing yields. The process allows multiple re-uses of a single donor wafer, significantly reducing cost and related CO2 emissions.

In this fast-growing market, Soitec is ramping production of SmartSiC substrates at its new plant in Bernin. X-FAB is increasing production capacity for SiC devices at its Lubbock plant. Use of the SmartSiC substrate enables X-FAB’s customers to design smaller devices, resulting in efficiency improvements through an increased number of dies per wafer. The benefit of reduced CO2 emissions from the substrate manufacturing process will also contribute to X-FAB's initiative to reduce its overall carbon footprint.

“We want to provide our customers the full range of opportunities to design innovative and robust SiC devices for electric vehicles, renewable power and industrial applications,” says X-FAB’s VP procurement Sophie Le-Guyadec. “To offer the most advanced silicon carbide processes and manufacturing capabilities, we jointly agreed to provide our customers easy access to Soitec’s innovative SmartSiC via a consignment model,” she adds.

“Soitec’s SmartSiC substrates and X-FAB’s foundry services are a perfect fit to meet increasing demand for new SiC products,” believes Emmanuel Sabonnadiere, Soitec executive VP automotive & industry. “This cooperation is a significant milestone for the deployment of SmartSiC in the US market and internationally, thanks to X-FAB’s global footprint.”