Aug 30 2006
Norstel's Silicon Carbide Wafer Manufacturing Plant in Norrköping has now been officially opened. The Grand Opening was honored by Mr. Thomas Östros, Swedish Minister for Industry and Trade and Mr. Mattias Ottosson, Chairman of the Municipal Executive Board in Norrköping. Norstel's plant, with a floor area of 2 000 m2, is located on a green field site 4 km from the center of Norrköping.
"Norstel is a result of a long period of intensive R&D at Linköping University, partially funded by Swedish government agencies," said Mr. Thomas Östros, Minister for Industry and Trade in a statement. "It is my pleasure to welcome the industrial phase of advanced Silicon Carbide materials manufacturing to strengthen the Swedish infrastructure of advanced electronic industry". " We are now taking a major step towards establishing Norstel as a significant supplier of Silicon Carbide materials" said Dr. Asko Vehanen, CEO of Norstel. "Our technology is based on the patented High Temperature Chemical Vapor Deposition (HTCVD) technique. Making this method truly industrial will enable Norstel to produce high-quality large-diameter SiC crystals and wafers cost-efficiently, thereby opening new markets and applications."
"The establishment of Norstel is of great importance to Norrköping and the Twin Cities of Sweden, Norrköping-Linköping. Our position as an attractive region for knowledge intensive businesses is strengthened, not least with regard to companies active in the electronic industry, said Matthias Ottosson, (s), Chairman of the Municipal Executive Board in Norrköping."
The construction of the plant began in February 2005. It has been designed and equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, process tools and characterization equipment. This makes it one of the most modern and advanced facilities in the world today, focused purely on producing single crystal SiC materials. Environmental impact is minimized through the use of sophisticated waste gas systems and in-house treatment of used process chemicals and waste water. All operations are strictly in accordance with the Environmental Permits granted by the Swedish authorities.
In power electronics new SiC devices lead to significantly reduced energy losses and savings in size and cost of electrical systems. Improved power electronics will greatly reduce energy consumption and pollution globally. Examples of applications for SiC devices range from hybrid cars and microwave power to high voltage power transmission and distribution.