Global Silicon Carbide (Sic) Epitaxy Furnace Market Research Report 2023-Competitive Analysis, Status and Outlook by Type, Downstream Industry, and Geography, Forecast to 2029

Global Silicon Carbide (Sic) Epitaxy Furnace Market Research Report 2023-Competitive Analysis, Status and Outlook by Type, Downstream Industry, and Geography, Forecast to 2029

A silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial furnace is a special equipment for the production and preparation of SiC epitaxial wafers. Silicon carbide epitaxial wafer refers to a silicon carbide wafer with a single crystal thin film (epitaxial layer) that has certain requirements and is the same as the substrate crystal grown on a silicon carbide substrate.

SiC is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material with excellent thermal and electrical properties, making it suitable for various high-performance electronic devices. The quality of silicon carbide epitaxy mainly depends on the production equipment, and SiC epitaxial layers are essential for manufacturing SiC-based devices such as power electronics, high-frequency devices, and optoelectronic devices.

The SiC epitaxy furnace provides a controlled environment for the growth of SiC layers. It typically consists of a reaction chamber, heating elements, gas delivery systems, temperature control systems, and exhaust systems. The process involves introducing specific precursor gases containing silicon and carbon into the chamber at high temperatures, where they decompose and react to form SiC on the substrate surface. Since SiC epitaxial growth is performed in a high-temperature environment of 1,500°C or higher, SiC epitaxial furnaces need to control temperature uniformity, wafer thickness, and airflow movement.

Market Overview:

The latest research study on the global Silicon Carbide (Sic) Epitaxy Furnace market finds that the global Silicon Carbide (Sic) Epitaxy Furnace market reached a value of USD 318.18 million in 2022. It’s expected that the market will achieve USD 1249.77 million by 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 25.61% during the forecast period.

The importance of epitaxy materials

A silicon carbide epitaxial wafer is a silicon carbide wafer grown on a silicon carbide substrate with a single crystal thin film (epitaxial layer) that has certain requirements and isomorphous with the substrate. In practical applications, almost all wide bandgap semiconductor devices are fabricated on the epitaxial layer, and the silicon carbide wafer itself is only used as the substrate, including the GaN epitaxial layer substrate. Since silicon carbide devices cannot be fabricated directly on silicon carbide single-crystal materials, high-quality epitaxial materials must be grown on conductive single-crystal substrates, and various devices are fabricated on the epitaxial layer, so the epitaxial process is very critical in the entire industry. All silicon carbide devices are realized by epitaxy, and the quality of the epitaxy has a great influence on the performance of the device. Epitaxial quality is affected by crystal and substrate processing, which plays a key role in the development of the silicon carbide industry. In addition, defects and impurities will inevitably be generated during the growth of silicon carbide crystals, resulting in a decrease in the quality and performance of the substrate material. The growth of the epitaxial layer can eliminate some defects in the substrate so that the crystal lattice is arranged neatly. Controlling silicon carbide epitaxial defects is the key to fabricating high-performance devices, and defects can have a serious impact on the performance and reliability of silicon carbide power devices. As a result, SiC epitaxy furnaces offer a very high productivity solution for various thermal processes including low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), diffusion, and oxidation.

Silicon carbide and semiconductor markets are growing rapidly

The growth of the silicon carbide epitaxial furnace market largely depends on the silicon carbide and semiconductor industries. Silicon carbide is a semiconductor containing silicon and carbon. Silicon carbide particles can be molded together to form very hard ceramics for applications requiring high durability such as steel processing, electronics, and automotive industries. Power applications require smaller, more efficient solutions. SiC is ideal for replacing silicon in discrete components and power modules, as it increases power density and ensures devices can be accommodated in smaller packages. Due to its superior performance, SiC is widely used in power supply applications requiring high switching frequency, voltage, current, and efficiency. Potential applications for SiC devices include power systems in automobiles, aircraft, traction drives, industrial drives, induction heating, server power supplies, battery chargers, and inverters. In addition, the growing need to use power sources more efficiently has led to the development of silicon-based technologies and technologies using new wide-bandgap materials such as silicon carbide (SiC). Silicon carbide is widely used in the manufacture of semiconductors due to its properties. The semiconductor industry is growing rapidly due to strong demand from data centers and consumer electronics manufacturing. The exponential growth in demand from the electronics industry and high-end consumer electronics market in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom is creating opportunities for the growth of the silicon carbide market. The Asia Pacific region holds a significant share of the silicon carbide market. In countries such as China, India, and Japan, the demand for silicon carbide in the region has been increasing owing to the increasing demand for advanced and upgraded technologies in various sectors including electronics, automotive, and defense. China is one of the major consumers of semiconductors and is trying to increase semiconductor production to meet the needs of the defense budget. Semiconductors are a key area of the Made in China 2025 plan, in which China aims to produce 70 percent of the semiconductors it uses by 2025. Trade and technology cooperation between India and Singapore semiconductor industries, new plans to boost electronics production in India, and the development of the automotive industry will all increase semiconductor production in India, driving the future SiC market. Therefore, the rapidly growing silicon carbide and semiconductor markets have created a huge demand for silicon carbide epitaxy, which has also driven the demand for silicon carbide epitaxy furnaces.

Market supply and demand fluctuation risk

The technology of high-end products of silicon carbide epitaxial furnaces was mainly in the hands of a few manufacturers such as Japan and Germany in the early stage. The products are expensive and the supply is relatively limited. In recent years, China's silicon carbide growth equipment supply capacity has gradually improved, narrowing the gap with international suppliers in terms of technology and process level, product variety, and supply quantity. However, the supply of high-end crystalline silicon growth equipment is limited, which can meet the needs of the cutting-edge semiconductor integrated circuit industry. At present, enterprise orders are mainly booked and customized by customers. Customers will adjust their investment decisions based on their expectations of the industry situation and project progress. Therefore, there are certain uncertainties in the contract execution process. The integrated circuit industry is a key industry supported by most countries and is currently in a period of rapid development. However, due to the adjustment of investment progress and the impact of asset strength, some downstream customers may have unfavorable situations such as canceling orders or proposing delayed delivery. Therefore, affected by the demand of downstream terminal industries and industry policies, manufacturers have the risk of industry fluctuations caused by cyclical or policy fluctuations in the downstream market. In general, the risk of market supply and demand fluctuations will have a certain impact on the production planning of manufacturers.

Region Overview:

In 2022, the share of the Silicon Carbide (Sic) Epitaxy Furnace market in Japan stood at 44.68%.

Company Overview:

The major players operating in the Silicon Carbide (Sic) Epitaxy Furnace market include TEL, Aixtron, Nuflare, ASM International (LPE SpA), Jingsheng Mechanical & Electrical, etc. Among which, TEL ranked top in terms of sales and revenue in 2023.

TEL

TEL is the world's leading semiconductor equipment company. TEL develops, manufactures, and sells a wide range of products. All of TEL's semiconductor and FPD production equipment product lines provide the foundation for the information industry and are core technologies that support innovation and drive the development of a wide range of electronic devices. TEL provides customers with superior products and services through a global network.

Aixtron

Leading provider of deposition equipment to the semi-industry to produce devices such as VCSEL, μLED, SiC & GaN-Power, GaN RFAIXTRON SE is a leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry.

Segmentation Overview:

By type, CVD segment accounted for the largest share of market in 2022.

Application Overview:

By application, the 100mm SiC Epiwafer segment occupied the biggest share from 2018 to 2022.

Key Companies in the global Silicon Carbide (Sic) Epitaxy Furnace market covered in Chapter 3:

NAURA Technology Group
TEL
Aixtron
Shenzhen Naso Tech
Nuflare
Jingsheng Mechanical & Electrical
ASM International (LPE SpA)
Epiluvac

In Chapter 4 and Chapter 14.2, on the basis of types, the Silicon Carbide (Sic) Epitaxy Furnace market from 2018 to 2029 is primarily split into:

CVD
PVT
Others

In Chapter 5 and Chapter 14.3, on the basis of Downstream Industry, the Silicon Carbide (Sic) Epitaxy Furnace market from 2018 to 2029 covers:

100mm SiC Epiwafer
150mm SiC Epiwafer
200mm SiC Epiwafer

Geographically, the detailed analysis of consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate, historic and forecast (2018-2029) of the following regions are covered in Chapter 8 to Chapter 14:

North America (United States, Canada)
Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Netherlands, Turkey, Switzerland, Sweden)
Asia Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia)
Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina)
Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa)