Semiconductor materials supply Entegris Inc. has entered into a long-term agreement with wide bandgap (WBG) chipmaker Onsemi to supply it with co-optimized chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) materials for Onsemi’s silicon carbide (SiC) chips.
The agreement comes after Onsemi revealed its roadmap for SiC technologies through the end of the decade including its EliteSiC M3e MOSFETs that play role in powertrains, DC fast chargers, solar inverters and energy storage systems.
WBG technologies — like SiC and gallium nitride (GaN) — have increased in demand as they are frequently being used in technologies like renewable energy applications and electric vehicles (EVs). These technologies offer better power conversion and efficiency compared to other process technologies resulting in the demand of these chips skyrocketing.
The manufacturing of these WBG materials is also increasing as the market is gearing up for what is believed to be higher demand as more EVs get on the road and the power grid continues to shift to renewables. However, SiC devices are naturally dense and chemically inert, which makes it difficult to achieve the right surface quality on a wafer.
The CMP solutions help to enable the high-volume manufacture of SiC wafers, Entegris said. This includes:
- Slurries
- Pads
- Brushes
- Post-CMP cleans
“The agreement with Entegris enables us to reliably meet our customers’ rapidly increasing demand for innovative technologies that improve the energy efficiency in their applications,” said Nana Tseng, chief procurement officer and VP of external manufacturing at Onsemi.
