科研創業計畫：SiC第三類半導體晶圓材料快速薄化

Silicon carbide are the core materials for power devices in the field of electric vehicles, high-speed rail, aerospace, energy, and AI-related 5G industries that have the potential to surpass the output value of the semiconductor industry. Due to thermal management requirements, the silicon carbide after devices construction needs to be thinned to 100-200 microns, but its ultra-hard characterization (Mohs hardness of 9.5, second only to diamond 10.0) makes thinning extremely difficult. According to the power devices industry report, the SiC material market size will reach $350 million per year in 2024. In terms of cost structure, the cost of thinning and polishing has exceeded the selling price by 50%. The reason is that the SiC substrate is really hard, and the high corrosion resistance of the surface to the polishing liquid lowers down the removal efficiency. We can electrochemically precisely form a sponge-like pore structure in the area desired to be removed to embrittle the material and overcome the problem of hard material. This project applies the host's years of experience in electrochemical research, and applies the electrochemical process based on the principle of Faraday electrolysis to make the part of the substrate to be removed to appear sponge-like, and the strength is greatly reduced, but the solid part that is not affected by electrochemical erosion still maintains the original high hardness. Therefore, the part to be removed can be removed by the general polishing slurry and process until it stops at the interface between the two, so as to achieve the purpose of controllable and rapid thinning. At the same time, since the number of atoms removed in the electrochemical etching is proportional to the input power, the depth of the sponge-like structure can be accurately estimated to achieve the purpose of precise thinning. After the implementation of this plan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs will apply for a price innovation plan to further use the electromagnetically induced oxidation technology to oxidize and soften the surface, which will greatly increase the polishability and constitute a complete silicon carbide thinning and polishing process, which is expected to develop in related industries. Become the mainstream thinning and polishing technology.