Acreo spins off the new company Ascatron for fabrication of silicon carbide semiconductors
Today the CEO of the Swedish research institute Acreo, Mårten Armgarth, announced the foundation of a new company, Ascatron. Based on the silicon carbide (SiC) technology developed at Acreo, Ascatron will specialise on the manufacturing of energy efficient SiC semiconductors. Target customers are suppliers of power devices and modules to the power electronic industry.
”Now is the right time to build up production capacity for SiC devices. The demand for our epi service has increased significantly and we have run our two R&D reactors at a maximum capacity over the last two years” says Mårten Armgarth CEO at Acreo. ”The commercialization of our SiC process technology is in line with our mission, to transfer research results to industry. When a technology is mature enough and the market demand is identified our strategy is to look at the possibilities to start a new company”.
Ascatron is the first independent “pure play” SiC foundry offering the complete fabrication service from device epitaxy to diced wafers.
“With our know-how in development of different types of SiC devices Ascatron can optimize the fabrication process to the design and specifications required by the customer” says Adolf Schöner, Manager of the SiC group at Acreo and Co-Founder of Ascatron. “We will focus on fast delivery of small series for market verification, followed by a production ramp-up in accordance with the customer needs.”
Ascatron is starting to scale-up the SiC fabrication technology, developed at Acreo, during September. In the beginning Ascatron will use the established 4” wafer SiC process line at the Electrum Laboratory in Kista, Sweden. In the roadmap to serve the growing SiC industry Ascatron plans to build up a dedicated large volume SiC device production fab, capable of handling more than 50 000 6” wafers per year.
Acreo will continue the R&D activities in the field of SiC-semiconductors, focusing on device and module design of energy efficient power electronics. To accelerate the implementation of efficient power electronics Acreo will start the SiC Power Center; a platform for application-oriented R&D activities in a collaboration between industry, research institutes and universities.
For further information please contact:
Ascatron: Adolf Schöner, Co-Founder
Tel: +46 70 792 7809
Email: adolf.schoner@ascatron.com
Acreo: Mårten Armgarth, CEO
Tel: +46 70 528 25 00
Email: marten.armgarth@acreo.se
About Ascatron
Ascatron is specializing on the manufacturing of silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductors. Ascatron is the first independent “pure play” SiC foundry offering the complete fabrication service from device epitaxy to diced wafers. Stable unit process modules are combined according to the customers design and specification. The focus is on fast delivery of small series for market verification and ramp up to large volume production in accordance with the customer needs. Ascatron is a spin-off company from the Swedish research institute Acreo.
More information about Ascatron visit www.ascatron.com .
About Acreo
Acreo is one of Europe's top research institutes providing breaking edge results within the field of electronics, optics and communication technologies. Turning academic research into commercial products, Acreo offers value-adding technology solutions for growth and competitiveness in industry and society. The types of assignments are ranging from feasibility studies, long term research projects, prototyping and small scale production, to verification and testing. Acreo also supports small and medium sized companies with technology transfer, business networks and financial advice. Acreo is part of Swedish ICT, and has 145 employees located in Kista (headquarter), Norrköping and Hudiksvall, in Sweden. www.acreo.se
About SiC electronics
The usage of SiC electronics is increasing the efficiency in power electronics which minimizes electricity conversion losses. The implementation of SiC semiconductors also enables very compact and light power systems. In addition SiC semiconductors can be used for high temperature electronics and sensors, which will enable new applications beyond the possibilities of traditional semiconductor devices.
For more information about power electronics based on silicon carbide visit: www.acreo.se/nanoelectronics .
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