GT Advanced Technologies Inc of Nashua, NH, USA (a provider of polysilicon production technology as well as sapphire and silicon crystal growth systems and materials for the solar, LED and electronics markets) has introduced a silicon carbide (SiC) production furnace.
GT says that the SiClone100 uses a sublimation growth technique capable of producing high-quality semiconducting bulk SiC crystal that can be finished into wafers up to 100mm in diameter. In its initial offering, the SiClone100 is targeted at users that have developed their own hot zone, qualified a bulk crystal production recipe, and are looking to begin volume production.
"GT's new SiClone100 furnace addresses the need in the power electronics industry for more high-quality SiC material for use in advanced, high-power, high-frequency devices," says president & CEO Tom Gutierrez. "The SiClone100 lays the foundation for our SiC product roadmap that is expected over time to provide customers with access to a complete production environment including recipes, hot zones and consumables capable of producing up to 8-inch SiC wafers," he adds.
GT says that it has leveraged its deep domain expertise in crystal growth technology to offer customers who are looking to move from 'the lab to the fab' a reliable and proven platform to begin volume production of SiC bulk crystal. The SiClone100 is equipped with a control system that helps to automate the growth process by integrating the furnace electronics into the human-machine interface (HMI) control. The furnace uses a bottom-loading design, making it easy to load the hot zone, the firm says. The control system provides increased flexibility for users to customize process recipes and control key production parameters such as temperature, profile, ramp and gas flow, which improves run-to-run control repeatability and thus helps to lower manufacturing costs, GT adds. Also, the firm's onsite engineering and support can help users to ramp to volume production quickly.
GT says that it expects SiC furnace sales to contribute less than 1% of its 2013 revenue, and that it expects the SiC revenue ramp in 2014 and beyond to develop at a gradual pace, given the lengthy design cycle associated with new power devices.
