Cree confirms 4-inch SiC switch under USAF deal
The cost of SiC-based discretes and MMICs looks set to fall as key manufacturer Cree switches production from 3-inch to 4-inch substrates.
The change in wafer size is part of a five-year, $19.7 million project, which the US Air Force Research Laboratory revealed brief details of in August (see related story).
Cree is contributing $4.7 million to the program. It will focus on making SiC-based MMICs for next-generation military radar systems primarily, although commercial RF applications should also benefit.
The Durham, NC, company has identified the emerging WiMAX broadband wireless access protocol as a target for discrete SiC MESFETs that it also manufactures.
At the CS Mantech conference in New Orleans earlier this year, Cree said that it expected to transition to 4-inch SiC production in 2007 (see related story).
Cree's Jim Milligan said then that the company's SiC devices cost $3 per Watt of output power if ordered in quantities of 100,000 "“ a price that should drop significantly once the switch to larger substrates is complete.
