DISCO introduces a new wafer cutter 10 times faster

     Japanese semiconductor equipment giant Disco has developed a new SiC (silicon carbide) wafer cutting equipment DFG8541, which can process silicon and silicon carbide wafers with a maximum size of 8 inches, and increase the cutting speed of SiC wafers to 10 times. Silicon carbide (SiC) as a semiconductor material has high power efficiency, but the material is hard and difficult to process. Disco will establish the mass production technology of a new generation of power semiconductors, which is expected to promote the popularization of pure electric vehicles.

     Silicon carbide can reduce electricity loss, and demand from EV and power stations is rapidly expanding. The hardness is 1.8 times that of mainstream silicon, and it is the third hardest substance after diamond and boron carbide in the confirmed minerals and compounds.

     Today's energy-efficient semiconductors use a grinding stone to cut a disc-shaped semiconductor material and split it into hundreds of semiconductor chips. Compared with the grinding stone, the cutting speed of the laser is faster, but the power of the laser cutting silicon carbide is very weak.

     Disco has developed a device that uses laser scoring and plate pressure to achieve cutting. Cutting speed is about 10 times faster than grinding stone. Tens of millions of yen per device, will expand sales to global semiconductor manufacturers.

     Silicon carbide wafers cost dozens of times more than silicon. If it is more convenient to process, the production efficiency will be improved under the mass production effect. It is likely to bring down the prices of semiconductor materials and energy-efficient semiconductors. Japan's domestic equipment and material manufacturers are improving the technology of silicon carbide mass production. KOKUSAI ELECTRIC will sell a new device with a film on the surface of high-temperature wafers in 2025.

     DISCO is mainly involved in "back-end" equipment corresponding to the final product in the semiconductor manufacturing process, including slicing machines for cutting wafers into chips and grinding machines for thinning chips. As the world's largest manufacturer of wafer cutters and grinders for semiconductor mass production, DISCO has a 70% to 80% market share in these two segments. In addition, DISCO's power semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which currently accounts for about 25% of the company's revenue, is also showing strong demand.