On December 31, 2024, according to the China Electronic Materials Industry Association, Shanxi Shuoke Crystal Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Electronics Technology Semiconductor Materials Co., Ltd., recently successfully developed a 12-inch (300mm) high-purity semi-insulating silicon carbide single crystal substrate, and successfully developed a 12-inch N-type silicon carbide single crystal substrate at the same time.

In terms of capacity construction, the Shuoke Crystal Silicon Carbide Phase II project passed the completion acceptance in October 2024, marking the official start of production of the project. The completion of the Phase II project is expected to bring Shuoke Crystal an additional 200,000 6-8-inch silicon carbide substrates per year, including 200,000 N-type silicon carbide single crystal substrates per year and 25,000 high-purity substrates per year.

In terms of 8-inch progress, Shuoke Crystal developed 8-inch silicon carbide crystals in August 2021, and then in January 2022, Shuoke Crystal achieved small-scale production of 8-inch N-type silicon carbide polishing wafers. The increase in wafer size means that more chips can be manufactured on each wafer, thereby improving production efficiency. It not only reduces the production cost of a single chip, but also optimizes the overall manufacturing cost. Therefore, large-size wafers are more economically efficient and bring greater competitive advantages to manufacturers.

At present, large-size wafers have become a common goal pursued by major manufacturers. In addition to Shuoke Crystal, Tianyue Advanced has released a 12-inch N-type silicon carbide substrate product on November 13, 2024, marking that the silicon carbide industry has officially entered the era of ultra-large-size silicon carbide substrates. Although the field of silicon carbide substrates is currently transforming from 6 inches to 8 inches, the future evolution to 12 inches has a high visibility.