On January 13, Wolfspeed announced achieving a major industry milestone by successfully producing 300mm (12-inch) single-crystal silicon carbide wafers. Leveraging the industry's largest and most foundational portfolio of silicon carbide intellectual property (with over 2,300 granted and pending patents worldwide), Wolfspeed is leading the charge in advancing silicon carbide technology to 300mm, paving the way for large-scale commercialization in the future.

This technological advancement marks a significant step forward for next-generation computing platforms, immersive AR/VR systems, and advanced power devices. By scaling silicon carbide to 300mm, Wolfspeed is unlocking new performance thresholds and manufacturing scalability for the world's most demanding semiconductor applications.

Wolfspeed Chief Technology Officer Elif Balkas stated, "Producing 300mm single-crystal silicon carbide wafers is a major technological achievement and the result of years of focused innovation in crystal growth, ingot, and wafer processing. This accomplishment enables Wolfspeed to support the industry's most transformative technologies, particularly key elements of the AI ecosystem, immersive AR/VR systems, and other advanced power device applications."

The Wolfspeed 300mm platform will consolidate high-capacity silicon carbide manufacturing for power electronics with advanced capabilities for high-purity semi-insulating substrates used in optical and RF systems. This integration will support new wafer-level integration across optical, photonic, thermal, and power domains.

As AI workloads push data centers to their power limits, the demand for higher power density, thermal performance, and energy efficiency will continue to accelerate. Wolfspeed's 300mm silicon carbide technology enables wafer-level integration of high-voltage power delivery systems, advanced thermal solutions, and active interconnects, extending system performance beyond traditional transistor scaling.

Next-generation AR/VR systems require compact, lightweight configurations that integrate high-brightness displays, wide fields of view, and efficient thermal management. Silicon carbide’s unique material properties, such as mechanical strength, thermal conductivity, and control of optical refractive index, make it an ideal choice for multifunctional optical architectures.

Beyond AI infrastructure and AR/VR, transitioning silicon carbide to the 300mm platform is an important step in scaling advanced power device production. Larger wafer diameters improve the ability to meet the growing demand for applications such as high-voltage grid transmission and next-generation industrial systems in a cost-effective manner.

Poshun Chiu, Chief Analyst of Compound Semiconductors at Yole Group, stated, "The 300mm breakthrough is not just a technical milestone; it also opens new opportunities for silicon carbide as a strategic material. It indicates that silicon carbide is advancing toward the next level of manufacturing maturity required for electrification, digitalization, and the AI era in the coming decade. This provides the market with a reliable roadmap for higher yields, better economic efficiency, and long-term supply security."