CD Laboratory for Sustainable Silicon Carbide Technology

With the compound semiconductor silicon carbide (SiC), power electronic components can be made smaller, lighter and more efficient. However, their production is very complex, which leads to high costs. The multiple use of existing substrates would not only be more sustainable, but could also reduce costs and increase the market share of these promising materials. Solutions are being researched here.

Functional materials have always been our daily companions. Over the millennia, we have used stones, wood or special metallic alloys as or for the manufacture of tools or everyday objects, but today it is impossible to imagine our everyday lives without customised semiconductor materials.

They form the basis for micro- and nanotechnologically manufactured components in the field of electronics, sensors and actuators, and are used in various products such as smartphones, motor vehicles, electric cars, charging stations, trains, computers and air conditioning systems. Furthermore, the provision of services in various applications that we take for granted today, such as 5G, streaming, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and smart homes, would not be possible without this extraordinary class of materials.

For power electronic components used in modern electric cars or fast charging stations, the compound semiconductor SiC is of particular interest. Due to its large band gap, low intrinsic charge carrier concentration, high critical electric field strength and high thermal conductivity, SiC-based devices are smaller, lighter and have a more efficient energy conversion compared to similar devices made from the standard semiconductor silicon. However, the production of SiC is extremely complex, resulting in limited availability of high-quality substrates, high material costs and a low market share.

It is therefore the aim of this Christian Doppler Laboratory to pave the way for a significant increase in the market share of SiC-based devices by enabling multiple use and thus sustainable utilisation of already available SiC substrates by means of a novel layer transfer technique.

Basic research on the underlying key technologies such as porosification, compaction and heterogeneous integration of SiC will be the main research blocks of this Christian Doppler Laboratory.