SiC wafer defect tool wins innovation award
Rigaku SE and Fraunhofer IISB scientists win Georg Waeber Innovation Award 2023
A team from Rigaku SE and Fraunhofer IISB has established a new SiC wafer characterisation method in their jointly operated Centre of Expertise for X-ray Topography in Erlangen, Germany. Now three scientists who led the development have been awarded the Georg Waeber Innovation Award 2023 from the Förderkreis für die Mikroelektronik e.V. (Microelectronics Promotion Society).
Michael Hippler, managing director of Rigaku Europe SE, Christian Reimann and Christian Kranert from Fraunhofer IISB are pictured above with their award certificate in front of the Rigaku XRTmicron tool at the Centre of Expertise for X-ray Topography at the IISB.
Until now, no industry-ready metrology existed for the early stages of SiC power electronics manufacturing, especially at substrate or crystal (commonly referred to as the “puck”) level. The new approach provides an X-ray topography system that employs defect detection and quantification algorithms. It eliminate the need to destructively defect etch and discard semiconductor substrates for characterisation.
The success of the joint innovation is illustrated by a new business, which Rigaku has successfully established in less than two years.The Japan-based company is now the world's leading supplier of XRT tools for SiC substrate and device manufacturing.
The Förderkreis is an association of industry companies, two Fraunhofer institutes, four chairs of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and the Nuremberg Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The main objective is to foster a smooth exchange between science and industry, which is manifested in the Georg Waeber Innovation Award.
The award is presented annually for outstanding scientific achievements and places a strong emphasis on the advancement of knowledge in microelectronics and its practical application in the industry. On October 25, 2023, Hippler, Reimann and Kranert received the award during a ceremony at Fraunhofer IISB in Erlangen.
