German start-up secures finance for SiC processing tech
Mi2-factory GmbH, a German semiconductor equipment start-up, has closed a €15 million Series A financing round and the approval of a public grant of up to €23 million from the EU's IPCEI ME/CT project ( Important Project of Common European Interest to support research, innovation and the first industrial deployment of microelectronics and communication technologies).
The Jena-based start-up has developed a patented process technology called Energy-Filtered Ion Implantation (EFII) that is used in combination with production machine called EFITRON. The result is a high-precision, flexible, cost-competitive microchip-based solution for SiC doping issues in high volume wafer production, targeting the SiC power market for e-mobility, renewable energy, AI data centres, traction and industrial drives.
According to Mi2-factory, chip producers buy EFII to save costs, increase performance increase and enable design innovations in SiC power device manufacturing. For specific SiC power devices, Mi2-factory says a cost-reduction of up to 50 percent per wafer is achievable.
The investment and funding will enable the scale up of the proprietary EFIITRON technology from a laboratory pilot to industrial maturity and to showcase its first industrial use.
The Belgian Ion Beam Applications SA (IBA), a leader in particle accelerator technology, and the public investment company Wallonie Entreprendre International (WE International), together with Beteiligungsmanagement Thüringen (bm|t) are behind the €15 million iinvestment.
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and the Free State of Thuringia are providing the €23 million in public funds from the IPCEI ME/CT program.
