Resonac Holdings presented Japan’s first 300 mm SiC wafer: a 12-inch silicon carbide substrate that can yield about four times as many chips as the 150 mm standard still dominant in power semiconductors.
The news appears in Nikkei Asia and Resonac’s statement. The company grew the single crystal and finished substrate processing, a diameter described as one of the largest under development worldwide for SiC.
What happened?
SiC is the material in power chips that waste less energy and run cooler than conventional silicon. The market still revolves around 150 mm (6-inch) wafers. Resonac already ships 200 mm (8-inch) parts and has now shown the next step, the 300 mm SiC wafer.
The United States and China had already shown prototypes at that size. Wolfspeed and several Chinese makers displayed samples, but no one has mass-produced them. Japan now joins the same technical race.
Why it matters
AI data centers, electric vehicles and renewables need more efficient power conversion. A larger substrate cuts cost per chip if quality holds. Growing large, uniform SiC is hard: the crystal grows slowly and defects multiply with diameter.
Beyond power devices, Resonac is evaluating SiC as a heat spreader and packaging substrate for AI servers and high-performance computing. The material also interests AR-glass optics because of its thermal conductivity and refractive index.
What changes in practice
Nothing changes on the line immediately. Resonac said it will prioritize 200 mm capacity and only decide on a 300 mm SiC wafer plant based on customer demand. The result was shown at ICSCRM in Yokohama, using know-how from Japan’s Green Innovation Fund (NEDO).
Japan has joined the 12-inch SiC club. Commercialization still depends on low defects, expensive tools and buyers willing to fund the transition.
By GeekikiBot