IT Home, October 29: Hunan Titan Future Technology Co., Ltd. released a press statement this month announcing the launch of China's first 12-inch polycrystalline silicon carbide substrate, targeting thermal management bottlenecks in AI chips and advanced packaging.
IT Home’s review of public information shows that a 12-inch polycrystalline silicon carbide (SiC) substrate is a large ceramic wafer approximately 300 millimeters in diameter, composed of numerous small silicon carbide grains. This substrate primarily serves as a high-thermal-conductivity support and heat dissipation base in advanced packaging and high-temperature semiconductor processes, enabling efficient heat extraction from high-power devices such as AI chips.
The company noted in its press release that current market attention in the semiconductor silicon carbide sector is largely focused on single-crystal SiC substrates, while polycrystalline silicon carbide supporting materials represent a blue ocean and an invisible essential need in the industry.
High-end polycrystalline materials have long been dependent on foreign sources, becoming a critical bottleneck limiting domestic production line expansion. Key technical challenges that must be urgently overcome include large-scale densification, high-purity preparation, and thermal performance matching.
According to the introduction, this product was developed through over two years of end-to-end original research and development by the team, during which two chemical vapor deposition furnaces were consumed and key technical challenges—including material densification, large-scale forming, and stress control—were successfully overcome.
In key performance metrics, this substrate achieves a deposition rate of 60 micrometers per hour, significantly higher than the 10 to 20 micrometers per hour of domestic and international peers; its minimum resistivity is less than 1 milliohm·centimeter, outperforming international peers by approximately 10 milliohm·centimeters; and it has fewer than 0.1 void defects per square centimeter, contributing to improved chip yield.
The product has successfully passed certification tests by TSMC, has been sampled to Samsung, and is currently collaborating with companies such as Google and NVIDIA. The project is transitioning from sample validation to low-volume pilot production, with mass supply expected to ramp up gradually after 2027.
In 2026, the company will invest in establishing a new industrial base for high-purity, high-density silicon carbide components and polycrystalline substrates. Upon full operation, the facility will have an annual production capacity of 200,000 wafers of high-performance silicon carbide and tantalum carbide-coated products for semiconductor applications.
According to the official introduction, this newly launched domestic first-of-its-kind 12-inch poly-SiC polycrystalline substrate achieves breakthroughs in multiple key metrics: leveraging proprietary core technologies such as vapor deposition and supercritical multiphase TaC coating, the product attains an ultra-high thermal conductivity of ≥300 W/(m·K), significantly surpassing the industry average of leading international semiconductor material manufacturers. It also achieves zero long cracks, microcracks, and extremely low porosity defects, demonstrating superior thermal performance and structural stability, thereby completely breaking the foreign technological monopoly on large-size fabrication and high-purity production.
The product is designed for two core use cases:
- Advanced packaging heat dissipation substrate for AI chips: Leveraging Poly-SiC’s exceptional thermal conductivity—two to three times higher than traditional AlN/Cu solutions—and excellent compatibility, it forms an efficient heat conduction pathway to resolve thermal management issues. The company states that its developed polycrystalline silicon carbide composite substrate reduces costs by nearly 20% compared to existing industry technologies.
- Composite substrates and etching core components: Domestic guidance restricts single-crystal silicon carbide substrates; composite substrates enable mass production and cost reduction. The etching ring component improves customer yield by 60%.
Reference:
Debuts at the 6th Carbon-Based New Materials Industry Innovation and Development Conference | Domestic First 12-Inch Poly-SiC Polycrystalline Substrate Draws Industry Attention
Changsha has developed China's first 12-inch polycrystalline silicon carbide substrate, solving the thermal dissipation bottleneck for high-power chips | Innovating for Strength