German chipmaker Infineon Technologies has announced that it has made working power chips on 300-millimeter silicon carbide wafers at its plant in Villach, Austria. Announced on November 9, this is a first-of-its-kind attempt made in a full-scale fabrication facility, using equipment already in place for manufacturing silicon chips.The larger wafers could help Infineon increase its supply of power semiconductors for electric vehicles, renewable energy systems and AI data centers.The company said a 300-mm wafer can yield 2.3 times as many chips as a 200-mm wafer. It is showcasing a processed wafer at the electronica trade show in Munich, which runs from Nov. 10 to 13.Existing tools process larger wafersThe work in Villach established that Infineon could use existing silicon production equipment to turn the larger silicon carbide wafers into functional devices. The company plans to work with customers and partners on the technology and the timing of a production ramp-up. It will also continue developing its 200-mm silicon carbide manufacturing process.“This technological milestone further strengthens our leadership in power systems. Congratulations and thank you to our passionate team, making significant progress in bringing 300-millimeter SiC out of the lab into a manufacturing environment,” said Jochen Hanebeck, CEO of Infineon Technologies.Silicon carbide is the second wide-bandgap material in Infineon’s 300-mm manufacturing plans, alongside gallium nitride. On October 27, the company announced an investment of about €1.1 billion in a high-volume facility in Villach to make gallium nitride power semiconductors on 300-mm wafers.A faster way to cut wafersInfineon also tested its Cold Split process on 300-mm silicon carbide at its Dresden, Germany, site. The technique separates a wafer from a boule, the block of silicon carbide crystal from which wafers are cut.According to the company, Cold Split takes less time and wastes less of the crystal than conventional wire sawing. That allows Infineon to obtain more wafers from the same boule. The company said the process also requires less capital spending than wire sawing.The two trials address different steps in manufacturing. The Dresden team showed that the company could separate wafers of that size using Cold Split. The Villach team showed that larger SiC wafers could be processed into working power devices using equipment already available at the fab.From EV chargers to AI data centersSilicon carbide helps power devices convert electricity with lower losses and handle high voltages and temperatures. It also allows power electronics to deliver more power in a given space. In electric vehicles, the material can be used in traction inverters that control power to the motor and in onboard chargers.It also has applications in external EV charging stations, large energy storage systems, and industrial motor drives. The material is also used in uninterruptible power supplies, which keep equipment running when its normal power source is interrupted or fails.Infineon says demand for the material is also rising in AI data centers, where it can be used in power supply units, solid-state transformers, and circuit breakers. The company already sells silicon carbide devices for power conversion under its CoolSiC brand.