
When it comes to particularly low-loss semiconductor components and highly efficient power electronics, there is no way around silicon carbide (SiC) today. The wide-bandgap semiconductor material SiC is superior to conventional silicon in many respects and is conquering more and more new areas of application, for example in optoelectronics, sensor technology or solid-state quantum electronics. Even in space, SiC demonstrates its outstanding physical properties: A SiC UV photodiode from the Berlin-based company sglux is on board the current NASA mission Mars 2020. The SiC chip with the heterostructures for the UV photodiode was processed at Fraunhofer IISB in Erlangen on the institute's own CMOS line. Since the Mars rover “Perseverance” landed on the surface of Mars on February 18, 2021, the SiC photodiode has been functioning with absolute reliability under extreme environmental conditions. The UV sensor is a component of the SHERLOC deep-UV Raman spectrometer, employed by NASA to search for traces of past life on the surface of Mars. Fraunhofer IISB offers SMEs, mid-sized companies and industry low-threshold access to high-tech infrastructure and unique know-how in the field of semiconductor technology.
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