Epiluvac AB of Lund, Sweden says that it is now offering silicon carbide (SiC) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) epitaxy reactors in various configurations.
As one of the most interesting semiconductor materials in electrical power components for energy savings, silicon carbide components are already in use in hybrid cars and solar power inverters, says the firm. The high efficiency of such components minimizes energy loss and makes green power economically feasible, it adds. Epiluvac has now entered the scene as a new company aiming to supply the required deposition equipment.
Much of the pioneering research around silicon carbide was done at Sweden's Link?ping University, where the hot-wall CVD reactor was developed. This reactor type has been used successfully worldwide by the most prestigious labs, says Epiluvac. With a team that has many years of experience developing hot-wall systems, Epiluvac aims to continue development of this type of reactor.
Sweden has a unique cluster of companies and universities in the forefront of silicon carbide technology. The hot-wall CVD reactor has been the workhorse in R&D labs all over the world, and many scientific papers have been published concerning material grown in them, says Epiluvac. "The system design during three decades has proven to meet the high expectations of the best researchers around the world," states managing director Bo Hammarlund.
"It is also our ambition to stay in close contact with our customers in order to customize the tools for their specific needs. We have a lot of experience in doing this," says Hammarlund. "With the unique cluster of silicon carbide companies we have in Sweden, we are also able to pick up new demands at an early stage for not only SiC but also GaN, AlN, and graphene." The hot-wall reactors have already proven to be successful for producing grapheme, with Epiluvac being a partner in the Strategic Innovation graphene program led by Chalmers University, Gothenburg.
Epiluvac's offices and manufacturing facilities are located in the Ideon Science Park, close to Lund University and the multi-disciplinary research centers ESS (the European Spallation Source particle accelerator) and the MAX IV Laboratory (a national synchrotron radiation facility for x-ray analysis).
