Raytheon Pushing SiC Further
Raytheon's technology facility in Glenrothes, Scotland,
has been awarded grant funding by the government-backed Technology Strategy
Board that will be used by the company to support the further development of
low-cost silicon carbide solutions.
The company will receive funding towards the overall cost
of its project to develop robust, high temperature driver circuits for power
transistors using low-cost silicon carbide (SiC). New Integrated Circuit (IC)
technology is being designed specifically to build improved driver circuits for
the newly emerging SiC-based power transistors. These SiC transistors enable
much more efficient power electronics, leading to improved energy efficiency in
many application areas, such as oil and gas exploration, energy generation and
future electric vehicles.
Paul D'Arcy, semiconductor business manager for Raytheon
UK, said, "As specialists in silicon carbide, Raytheon UK are keeping ahead by
developing new processes and high temperature devices. This funding from the
Technology Strategy Board gives us an opportunity to work with our partners in
developing circuits on a low-cost SiC substrate. Our new technology promises to
offer superior performance and high temperature capability, and will be
significantly less expensive than SiC alternatives in the marketplace."
This project will be carried out from October 2012 to
September 2015, during which Raytheon UK will be working with Anvil
Semiconductors, a spin-out from the University of Warwick specialising in the
manufacture of low-cost Silicon Carbide Power Semiconductor devices on 3C SiC
epitaxial layers grown on silicon wafers.
