SOD wafers reportedly deliver higher thermal conductivity at a lower cost than existing silicon carbide (SiC) alternatives.
sp3 Diamond Technologies, Inc. recently announced that it is taking orders for 2- and 4-in. silicon on diamond (SOD) wafers for use as gallium nitride (GaN) substrates. The company is also accelerating its development of 6-in. wafers for use as laterally diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) substrates. sp3’s SOD wafers deliver higher thermal conductivity at a lower cost than existing silicon carbide (SiC) alternatives for GaN and for higher performance LDMOS devices because of improved thermal conductivity over traditional silicon wafers.
sp3’s SOD wafers deliver a high-performance path for devices designed for WiMax base stations and other commercial and military broadband and high-power switching applications, including radar communications equipment, weather and communications satellite equipment, and hybrid power switching devices. sp3’s new offering seeks to address the current performance limitations of these devices as they become increasingly impacted by the thermal restrictions of silicon wafers or the extreme cost and lower performance of SiC wafers.
“High-power, high-frequency devices-such as high-power radar and RF amplifiers, and DC-to-DC and AC-to-DC converters-have performance limitations due to the physical structure of standard silicon substrates,” said Dwain Aidala, president and chief operating officer of sp3 Diamond Technologies. “Military and industrial applications stand to benefit significantly from building devices on a diamond substrate with a device-quality, thin silicon top layer. GaN or LDMOS devices built on such a structured substrate can be driven to significantly higher power levels than current alternatives, thereby maximizing performance. sp3’s SOD wafers deliver industry-leading performance, are scalable up to 300 mm and are available at a lower cost than alternative diamond-based solutions or traditional SiC substrates.”
For additional details, visit
www.sp3diamondtech.com.
Links
