Soitec and Mersen announce strategic partnership to develop new silicon carbide (SiC) substrates for the electric vehicle market

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Bernin (Grenoble), Paris, Nov. 30, 2021 – 

Soitec (Euronext Paris), a world leader in the design and production of innovative semiconductor materials, and Mersen (Euronext Paris), a global expert in electrical specialties and advanced materials, announced today that they have entered into a strategic technical partnership to develop a new family of polycrystalline silicon carbide (poly-SiC) substrates for the electric vehicle market.

Thanks to their respective experience in substrates and materials, the joint development by Soitec and Mersen of very low electrical resistivity poly-SiC substrates will optimize SiC power electronics components devised based on Soitec's SmartSiC™ technology. The collaboration between the Mersen teams in Gennevilliers and the Soitec teams in Bernin and Grenoble will strengthen this development project. The teams will also be able to benefit from the expertise of the Soitec Substrate Innovation Center within CEA-Leti to validate the progress made in the industrialization process.

Christophe Maleville, Soitec's Chief Technology Officer, said: "By further pooling our materials and semiconductor expertise, we are able to produce substrates with very advanced performance. The results are compatible with our SmartSiC™ technology, and also exceed the specifications of our customers, which are the SiC power electronic circuit foundries. With its very low electrical resistivity, the poly-SiC substrate becomes a key element of our technology, and can vastly improve energy efficiency, thus making electric vehicles more efficient."

Luc Themelin, CEO of Mersen, said: "This partnership demonstrates Mersen's polycrystalline SiC expertise and our ability to develop a custom-design product compatible with Soitec's technology. Thanks to this strengthened partnership, we will be able to offer the electronics industry a high-performance, cost-effective substrate for the production of power semiconductors, especially for the electric vehicle market."

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