Arkansas Leads the Way with Silicon Carbide Fabrication Facility

Pictured, left to right, are Zhong Chen, Greg Salamo, Shannon Davis and Alan Mantooth (below).

The University of Arkansas is doing their part to minimize the demand of silicon carbide in the industry by building the only openly accessible fabrication facility in the U.S. In addition to offering commercial product to industry, the new Multi-User Silicon Carbide Research and Fabrication Facility (MUSiC) will be open to researchers and position itself as a teaching facility to train the next generation of semiconductor researchers and engineers.

In 2020-21, MUSiC received nearly $18 million from the National Science Foundation and $5.4 million from the Army Research Laboratory, most of which will be used to procure the needed equipment for this one-of-a-kind research, teaching and fabrication facility. The facility will enable the fabrication of circuits and devices on 6-inch semiconductor wafers for educational, commercial and military entities.

The unique and open-access facility at the U of A will fill a void in U.S. production of integrated circuits made with silicon carbide, a powerful semiconductor well suited for higher temperature environments. Silicon carbide has been studied for a long time, but until recently efforts to use it as a fully developed semiconductor have been stunted by the unavailability of high-quality silicon carbide wafers. Currently, all silicon carbide fabrication facilities in the U.S. are for internal use only, and U.S. research and development of silicon carbide integrated circuits relies on international fabrication.

Semiconductors are everywhere and in everything: automobiles, home appliances, high-power equipment, health care, communications, electric railways, cell phones, laptops, etc. While the United States was the pioneer that invented circuits and technologies, we are no longer as well positioned as we once were. Currently, only one in five semiconductors is produced in the U.S.

“In a world of semiconductor shortages, we are in the perfect position to help others while helping ourselves.” said Alan Mantooth, Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering and Executive Director of MUSiC, “We plan to lead the effort in commercializing silicon carbide semiconductors.”

Combining cutting-edge equipment and infrastructure with a core of research experts focused on silicon carbide semiconductor devices, sensors and integrated circuits, the fabrication facility will develop new electronics to address areas of national defense. Researchers will fabricate superior integrated circuits for compact and robust electronic devices for branches of the U.S. military. Silicon carbide semiconductors are currently being used in hybrid electric bulldozers, which reduces fuel costs by 25% and helps with physical health as the machinery is more fluid in movement and easier to operate. Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration is currently qualifying a UA-designed and built electric drive that contains silicon carbide semiconductors for Ampaire, which is producing twin engine hybrid planes – electric engine up front, gas engine in the back.

While silicon semiconductors are used in many things, they cannot be used in high temperature applications. However, silicon carbide is heat resistant beyond 500 degree Celsius. The devices will also be more energy efficient and heat resistant.

In addition to a lack of semiconductor production in the U.S., we have a workforce problem due to the current lack of electrical engineers. MUSiC plans to train the next generation of semiconductor researchers and engineers who can work in both the silicon and silicon carbide semiconductor industries. Students at all degree levels will be given research opportunities and be exposed to a high-need area of science and technology. The research will engage underrepresented students in this new and burgeoning area of electronics.

The U of A facility will provide domestic opportunities for prototyping, proof-of-principle demonstrations and device design. It will be the only openly accessible fabrication facility of its kind in the U.S., meaning its facilities and services will be available to external researchers.The University of Arkansas is the perfect choice to lead the effort in commercializing silicon carbide semiconductors. It has built a program that includes four centers of excellence (GRAPES, POETS, SEEDS, CITES), 16 faculty across four departments, 110 graduate students, nine full-time staff (and growing), four NSF CAREER Award winners since 2018, three established facilities (NANO, HiDEC, NCREPT), hundreds of journal and conference papers, and numerous awards to faculty, students, and staff.

The MUSiC facility will:

• Train students and produce the next generation of well-trained leaders in the semiconductor community.

• Attract excellent faculty to the University of Arkansas.

• Attract new industry to Arkansas.

• Produce new technology that becomes a source for start-up companies.

• Serve as a bridge between traditional university research and high-volume manufacturing of SiC circuits, thus filling a vital gap in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing for universities, national labs and businesses of all sizes that need low-volume prototyping.

To watch the presentation, go to our webpage uapower.group/uapg-newsletters and click on newsletter “June 2021-February 2022” to look for the link.