Infineon has acquired Siltectra GmbH, a start-up based in Dresden, Germany that has developed an innovative Cold Split technology to process crystal material efficiently and with minimal loss of material. Infineon will use the Cold Split technology to split silicon carbide (SiC) wafers, thus doubling the number of chips out of a single wafer. A purchase price of 124 million Euros was agreed on with the venture capital investor MIG Fonds, the main shareholder of Siltectra GmbH.
Siltectra was founded in 2010 and has been growing an IP portfolio with more than 50 patent families. The start-up developed a technology for splitting crystalline materials with minimal loss of material compared to common sawing technologies. This technology can also be applied with the semiconductor material SiC, for which rapidly rising demand is expected in the coming years. SiC products are already used today in very efficient and compact solar inverters. In the future, SiC will play a more and more important role in electro-mobility. The Cold Split technology will be industrialized at the existing Siltectra site in Dresden and at the Infineon site in Villach, Austria. The transfer to volume production is expected to be completed within the next five years.
Infineon offers a broad product portfolio of power semiconductors based on silicon as well as the innovative substrates of silicon carbide and gallium nitride. It is the only company worldwide with volume production on 300 mm silicon thin wafers. Therefore, Infineon is well positioned to apply the thin wafer technology to SiC products as well. The Cold Split technology will help to secure the supply of SiC products, especially in the long run. Over time, further applications for the Cold Split technology might emerge, such as boule splitting or the use for materials other than silicon carbide.
