Evidencing and enabling the market for silicon carbide technology.

Advanced Furnace Technology (AFT) is a 40-year old company with a successful business coating and cleaning all types of graphite components used in III-V semiconductor growth furnaces. In reaction to the fast expansion of the silicon carbide (SiC) industry in the last few years, AFT has been developing a new tantalum carbide (TaC) thin film coating that could be used to extend the life of components within a SiC epitaxial growth chamber.

This is an innovative technology, which will extend the lifetime of individual components, reducing downtime and maintenance cycles. Successful implementation of this technology will therefore ensure reduced costs in a critical part of the SiC supply chain, thereby helping to increase adoption of a technology that is at the forefront of making electric vehicles more efficient and affordable.

With the coating technology approaching readiness, with a patent submitted to cover the core idea, AFT now require external resource to launch the new product line. In this project AFT will follow two tracks that will bring the TaC business closer to launch. The first is the engagement of two UK SMEs, Exawatt Ltd and PGC Consultancy Ltd, in the development of the TaC coating value proposition in the specific context of the SiC industry.

Exawatt's proprietary SiC Market forecasts and demand models will provide a clearer picture of the addressable market for the TaC coatings, while experts in SiC technology and supply chain, PGC Consultancy will work with AFT in developing the scope of opportunity and value proposition, based on technical data from the field. The second track will expedite the experimental development period by bringing a materials science researcher onto the project.

The researcher will be engaged for 6 months, with the option to become permanent at the end of their contract. This individual will be fully resourced to the TaC coating project and not shared with core business activities, therefore speeding up development timelines. Longer-term, they will train and manage a new team of process technicians as the TaC project grows and is commercialised.