Soitec acquires NOVASiC to strengthen SiC wafer tech
NOVASiC adds expertise in wafering, polishing and reclaiming
Grenoble-based Soitec has acquired NOVASiC, a French company specialised in polishing and reclaiming wafers on SiC. The acquisition allows Soitec to drive the development of semiconductors for power supply systems in electromobility and industrial applications. The closing of the transaction is expected before the end of calendar year 2021.
In a strategic move to address the need of the automotive and industrial markets for performance and energy efficiency, Soitec is expanding its product portfolio beyond Silicon on Insulator (SOI) with SiC. This crystal material unlocks greater performance, optimized design and lower environmental impact for power electronics, making it a perfect fit in particular for electric vehicles and other power efficient applications.
SmartSiC substrates, resulting from the application of Soitec’spatented proprietary technology SmartCu to SiC, will enable new levels of performance and energy efficiency compared to traditional bulk SiC, through higher donor wafer re-usability, improved yields and lower die sizes. In addition to reducing SiC’s environmental impact in its production process, SmartSiC™ will be a catalyst to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. SmartSiC is currently at the prototyping level for devices with several key partners.
Established in 1995, NOVASiC provides state of the art wafering, reclaiming and polishing services for high performance semiconductors and industrial crystals to laboratories and industrial customers, with a particular focus on SiC. The company has developed innovative polishing processes allowing enhanced device performance with a scratch free, low roughness, ultra-clean epiready surface, and no damaged layers.
With the acquisition, Didier Marsan, CEO of NOVASiC and international expert will become senior technical advisor for Soitec.
“Soitec’s SmartSiC substrates will be the backbone of energy-efficient electromobility,” said Bernard Aspar, COO of Soitec. “The acquisition of NOVASiC and the integration of its expertise in wafering, polishing and reclaiming brings the latest technology building block for Soitec to deliver an optimal final product and prepare the industrialisation phase of our SmartSiC product line. The expertise of NOVASiC will help us further accelerate the go-to-market and adoption of our smart SiC applications in the promising and demanding automotive and industrial markets.”
“We are very pleased to join a world-leader in semiconductor materials like Soitec,” said Didier Marsan, CEO of NOVASiC. “We look forward to providing our expertise to support the roadmap of Soitec’s new, very promising product line, and to contributing to the adoption of Soitec´s smart SiC solutions.”
