The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) has selected Showa Denko’s “Project to Develop SiC Wafers Technology for Next-generation Green Power Semiconductors” as a candidate for “Projects to Develop Wafers Technology for Next-generation Power Semiconductors” which was set as a research and development target of the Green Innovation Fund Projects.
With the Japanese Government aiming towards structural changes in the energy and industrial sectors, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry (METI) decided in October 2020 to develop a Green Innovation Fund (at a level of 2 trillion yen as part of the NEDO). The plan is to continuously support organisations that show their commitment until the social implementation of the outcome.
SDK’s relations in and out of Japan make the company, enable it to make the most of its resources including intelligent property portfolio and development know-how, develop SiC epi-wafers with a diameter of 8 inches, and reduce density of deficiencies by one or more digits. This would reduce production costs of next-generation power semiconductors.
The project by the company has been selected for Green Innovation Fund Projects, with the implementation period being 9 years, from fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2030. The company proposed to develop technology accelerating the growth rate of SiC bulk single crystal in cooperation with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).