Leading the SiC Industry: The USACH BoulePro-200AX Sets the Standard

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As the demand for Silicon Carbide (SiC) continues its meteoric rise, SiC manufacturers are challenged to optimize their production processes to meet this growing need. Enter the USACH BoulePro-200AX, the industry-standard solution revolutionizing SiC boule fabrication. In this updated article, we explore how the BoulePro-200AX addresses the evolving demands of the SiC industry.

Meeting the Demands of a Growing Market:

With SiC usage expanding across various applications, manufacturers seek solutions to enhance their production facilities. The BoulePro-200AX sets a new benchmark for efficiency and quality, offering SiC producers a comprehensive tool to optimize their operations and reduce their production cost.

Commercial Traction and Facility Upgrades:

Meeting Surging Demand: In response to the widespread adoption of the BoulePro-200AX, USACH has upgraded its facilities in Elgin, Illinois, to meet the increasing demand. These enhancements include an additional production line, dedicated BoulePro demo/testing show room, conference room and customer café.

These upgrades underscore our commitment to serving SiC manufacturers with cutting-edge technology and efficient order fulfillment.

Process Methodology:

Hardinge’s BoulePro 200AX, with its manufacturing capabilities, checks all the boxes for an improved process flow. As a fully automated, self-contained machine tool, the BoulePro processes as grown SiC boules to wafer-ready pucks with no gluing/fixturing, external material setup or manual intervention needed.

With its single step, dual plane compensation (SSDC) capability enabled by the integrated X-ray diffraction (XRD) tool, the BoulePro carries out all the steps of the boule-to-puck conversion process in a dramatically shortened period.

The BoulePro-200AX employs a unique approach to process as-grown SiC boules, incorporating multiple workheads and advanced gripping techniques for precise machining. This methodology ensures consistent results, irrespective of boule geometry or growth conditions.

Key Advantages of the BoulePro-200AX:

This groundbreaking machine offers streamlined automation, enhanced process repeatability, significant labor cost reductions, reduced manufacturing footprint, comprehensive cost savings, and unparalleled accuracy, making it indispensable for SiC manufacturers.

The BoulePro-200AX is a game-changer for SiC manufacturers, offering the following key advantages:

  1. Streamlined Automation: This innovative machine tool accomplishes all the necessary steps in the boule to puck conversion process within a fully automated framework, completing the process in just one to three hours depending on as-grown boule geometry.
  2. Enhanced Process Repeatability: The advanced degree of automation provided by the BoulePro-200AX ensures improved process repeatability, resulting in consistent and high-quality wafer-ready SiC pucks.
  3. Significant Labor Cost Reduction: SiC producers can benefit from an impressive 85% reduction in labor costs, making the production process not only more efficient but also cost-effective.
  4. Reduced Manufacturing Footprint: The BoulePro-200AX significantly reduces the manufacturing footprint by 80% as all steps of the boule to puck process are carried out in one machine, optimizing space utilization in SiC production facilities.
  5. Comprehensive Cost Reduction: In comparison to the industry’s current standard practices, the BoulePro-200AX offers a total cost reduction of nearly 80%, encompassing Capital Expenditure (CapEx), Operating Expenditure (OpEx), and consumables.
  6. Higher Level of Accuracy:  The way in which the boule is held throughout the process enabling its exact location to be known at all times combined with the integrated XRD allows for a crystal orientation correction and flat location that is up to 500 times more accurate than the current standard specification.  This allows for a more accurate wafer to be generated and lends to an improved epitaxial layer on the final wafer, which leads to a better performing device.

The Global Trend: USACH BoulePro-200AX as the Industry Standard:

Major SiC producers worldwide have embraced the BoulePro-200AX as their preferred solution for boule to puck conversion, cementing its status as the industry standard. Its efficiency, repeatability, and cost-effectiveness have positioned it as a symbol of innovation and progress within the SiC community.

Conclusion:

Greg Knight, Hardinge CEO understands the benefits of the BoulePro-200AX from firsthand experience. He acknowledges the challenges that SiC producers face in post-growth boule fabrication. While SiC producers excel in crystal growth, optimizing the boule fabrication process often requires a deep-rooted background in machining, which they may lack. Hardinge, with its extensive expertise in grinding, turning, milling, and workholding spanning over a century, provides the ideal solution.

The USACH BoulePro-200AX is reshaping SiC boule fabrication, empowering manufacturers to meet the escalating demand for high-quality SiC products. With its unmatched capabilities and industry-wide acceptance, the BoulePro-200AX epitomizes USACH’s commitment to excellence and leadership in the SiC industry. As SiC’s significance continues to soar, the BoulePro-200AX remains at the forefront, driving innovation and guiding manufacturers towards a prosperous future.