Semiconductor hardnut

摘要

Silicon carbide (SiC) has been proposed for some time as a substrate for high-speed, high-temperature devices, and products are now entering the market. Dr Mike Cooke reviews some of SiC's device opportunities and tough process challenges. There's something strange about a material in which one proposal for etch processing is to use molten salt fluxes in platinum beakers. But again, everything about using silicon carbide is hard. Indeed, after diamond it is one of the hardest materials known to humanity. A quick perusal of the process technology challenges for SiC device production impresses one with the 'simplicity' of pure silicon or Ⅲ-Ⅴ IC production. While for some researchers the very difficulty of making SiC work as a semiconductor material is possibly what attracts, for others it is the potential thermal and electrical benefits of the compound.