Axcelis Technologies, a leading supplier of innovative ion implantation solutions for the semiconductor industry, announced a Joint Development Program (JDP) with GE Aerospace to develop production-ready 6.5kV to 10kV superjunction power devices. The collaboration will leverage the Axcelis Purion XEmax™ high energy implanter, the industry’s leading system delivering the highest beam currents across the broadest energy range – up to 15MeV.
The JDP supports the “Advanced High Voltage Silicon Carbide Switches” project, led by GE Aerospace under the Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub, directed by North Carolina State University. The initiative is designed to significantly enhance the performance of next-generation power switches for critical aerospace, defense, and commercial applications.
Silicon Carbide (SiC) wide bandgap semiconductors deliver superior voltage, frequency, and temperature performance compared to conventional silicon devices. These advancements enable smaller, more efficient, and lower-power systems across aerospace, defense, and commercial markets. On the commercial front, high voltage SiC devices are expected to be foundational in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, autonomous vehicles, and resilient power grid infrastructures.
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“We are proud to collaborate with GE Aerospace in this endeavor, which has the potential to accelerate superjunction technology adoption. Axcelis is committed to providing equipment and process expertise that enables our customers’ superjunction device roadmaps,” said Russell Low, President and CEO of Axcelis.
The Purion XEmax™ implanter offers unmatched flexibility for depth and concentration profiling, enabling cost efficiencies by reducing the number of process steps. Its advanced channeling capability supports aluminum implantation depths exceeding 7µm, making it an ideal tool for manufacturing advanced high voltage SiC devices.
GE Aerospace, through its Research Center in Niskayuna, N.Y., has built one of the world’s leading intellectual property portfolios in SiC technology over more than three decades. Today, GE provides SiC-based electric power products through its Electrical Power business, supporting avionics and electrical systems across commercial aircraft and ground vehicles. The company is now extending its SiC research to next-generation applications, including hypersonic vehicles, space travel, and electric propulsion systems.
“High voltage SiC power devices are an important enabler for a wide array of critical emerging applications and future endeavors, including hypersonic travel, electric propulsion, and space exploration. We are excited to partner with Axcelis on this project, due to their expertise in ion implantation for Silicon Carbide power devices, and their market leading portfolio of Purion high energy ion implanters,” said Dr. Ljubisa Stevanovic, Chief Engineer at GE Aerospace Research.