Large-area and low-cost hybrid SIC wafers

"Researchers at Astralux, Inc. in collaboration with Sterling Semiconductor, EMCORE Corp. and the University of Colorado at Boulder propose to develop hybrid SiC wafers using a novel technique. Specifically, our goal is to commercialize epi-ready 3-inchand 4-inch 4H and 6H SiC wafers for the emerging wide bandgap microwave device market. Our hybrid SiC wafers are complementary to the existing bulk SiC wafers, and our value added is to increase the production volume and significantly reduce the cost oflow-defect larger-area substrates. With market acceptance, we will add products such as wafers of different conductivity types for near-dc high voltage/power devices (off-axes) and possibly even laser diodes (on-axes). During Phase I, researchers atAstralux demonstrated a three-step process to make hybrid SiC wafers. All Phase I milestones were reached, the goals accomplished and we are now ready for prototype development in Phase II. An important feature of this program is to work closely with aSiC manufacturer to gain access to the best available SiC wafers and an AlGaN HEMT manufacturer who will test our substrates by growing/fabricating/testing RF devices and comparing the performance with devices made on conventional substrates."