Tantalum carbide technology breakthrough, SiC epitaxial pollution reduced by 75%?

Recently, the German research institute Fraunhofer IISB has made a breakthrough in the research and development of tantalum carbide coating technology, and developed a spray coating solution that is more flexible and environmentally friendly than the CVD deposition solution, and has been commercialized.

And domestic vetek semiconductor has also made breakthroughs in this field, please see below for details.

Fraunhofer IISB:

Developing a new TaC coating technology

On March 5, according to the media "Compound Semiconductor", Fraunhofer IISB has developed a new tantalum carbide (TaC) coating technology-Taccotta. The technology license has been transferred to Nippon Kornmeyer Carbon Group (NKCG), and NKCG has begun to provide TaC-coated graphite parts for their customers.

The traditional method of producing TaC coatings in the industry is chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which faces disadvantages such as high manufacturing costs and long delivery times. In addition, the CVD method is also prone to cracking of TaC during repeated heating and cooling of components. These cracks expose the underlying graphite, which degrades severely over time and needs to be replaced.

The innovation of Taccotta is that it uses a water-based spray coating method followed by temperature treatment to form a TaC coating with high mechanical stability and adjustable thickness on the graphite substrate. The thickness of the coating can be adjusted from 20 microns to 200 microns to suit different application requirements.

The TaC process technology developed by Fraunhofer IISB can adjust the required coating properties, such as thickness, as shown below in the range of 35μm to 110 μm

Specifically, Taccotta spray coating also has the following key features and advantages:

● More environmentally friendly: With water-based spray coating, this method is more environmentally friendly and easy to industrialize;

● Flexibility: Taccotta technology can adapt to components of different sizes and geometries, allowing partial coating and component refurbishment, which is not possible in CVD.

● Reduced tantalum pollution: Graphite components with Taccotta coating are used in SiC epitaxial manufacturing, and tantalum pollution is reduced by 75% compared with existing CVD coatings.

● Wear resistance: Scratch tests show that increasing the coating thickness can significantly improve wear resistance.

Scratch test

It is reported that the technology has been promoted for commercialization by NKCG, a joint venture focusing on providing high-performance graphite materials and related products. NKCG will also participate in the development of Taccotta technology for a long time in the future. The company has begun to provide graphite components based on Taccotta technology to their customers.

Vetek Semiconductor promotes the localization of TaC

In early 2023, vetek semiconductor launched a new generation of SiC crystal growth thermal field material-porous tantalum carbide.

According to reports, vetek semiconductor has launched a breakthrough in the development of porous tantalum carbide with large porosity through independent technology research and development. Its porosity can reach up to 75%, achieving international leadership.