ST Microelectronics has manufactured the first 200 mm (8 inch) silicon carbide (SiC) bulk wafers for prototyping next-generation power devices from its facility in Norrköping, Sweden. The transition to 200 mm SiC wafers marks an important milestone in the capacity build-up for ST’s customer programs in automotive and industrial sectors and will consolidate its lead in the disruptive semiconductor technology that allows for smaller, lighter and more efficient power electronics with a lower total cost of ownership.
Among the first in the world, these initial 200 mm SiC wafers are also very high quality, with minimal yield-impacting and crystal-dislocation defects. The low defectivity has been achieved by building on the 
Source: ST Microelectronicsexpertise in SiC technology developed by ST Microelectronics Silicon Carbide A.B. (formerly Norstel A.B., which ST acquired in 2019). In addition to meeting the quality challenge, the transition to 200 mm SiC substrates requires a step forward in manufacturing equipment and the overall support ecosystem performance. ST, in collaboration with technology partners covering the entire supply chain, is developing its own 200 mm SiC manufacturing equipment and processes.
ST currently manufactures its high-volume STPOWER SiC products on two 150 mm wafer lines in its fabs in Catania (Italy) and Ang Mo Kio (Singapore) and performs assembly and testing at its back-end sites in Shenzhen (China) and Bouskoura (Morocco). This transition is within the company’s ongoing plan to build a new SiC substrate plant and source over 40% of its SiC substrates internally by 2024.
