Another hot application of SiC - full-color optical waveguides

Another hot application of SiC - full-color optical waveguides

As a typical material of the third-generation semiconductor, SiC and its industrial development have been growing like bamboo shoots after a spring rain in recent years. SiC substrates have established a foothold in electric vehicles and industrial applications, such as in 800V fast charging of electric vehicles. SiC has become a key driving force for this development due to its excellent performance and continuously evolving supply chain. Meanwhile, SiC has excellent thermal conductivity, so a similar rated power can also be achieved in a smaller package.

In addition, we also observe the application of SiC materials in holographic optical waveguides. It is reported that many leading AR enterprises have begun to turn their attention to silicon carbide optical waveguides.

The promotional image of SiC full-color optical waveguide at the SEMICON exhibition

Why can SiC material be used in the field of full-color optical waveguides?

(1) SiC has a high refractive index

The refractive index of SiC (2.6-2.7) is significantly higher than that of traditional glass (1.5-2.0) and resin (1.4-1.7). Due to the high refractive index of SiC, the optical waveguide lenses made from it can provide a wider field of view. Meanwhile, this high refractive index enables SiC to more effectively confine light in the diffractive optical waveguide, thereby reducing light energy loss and enhancing display brightness.

ZMSH's 6inch SiC Wafers SEMI & 4H-N Type

(2) Single-layer design

Theoretically, a single-layer SiC lens can achieve a full-color field of view of over 80°, while glass lenses need to be stacked in three layers to reach 40°.

(3) Reduce weight

The single-layer structure reduces the amount of material used. Combined with the high strength of SiC itself, the overall weight of AR glasses is significantly reduced, enhancing the wearing comfort. ‌

SiC lenses can significantly reduce device weight and expand field of view, making the overall weight of AR glasses break through the 20g critical point, close to the shape of ordinary glasses ‌. The Micro LED display technology with silicon carbide substrate can compress the module volume by 40%, increase the brightness efficiency by 2.3 times, and enhance the display effect of AR glasses.

ZMSH's 2inch SiC Wafers 4H-SEMI Type

(4) Heat dissipation characteristics

SiC material has an excellent thermal conductivity (490W/m·K), which can rapidly conduct the heat generated by the opto-mechanical and computing modules through the waveguide itself, rather than relying on the traditional mirror leg heat dissipation design. This feature resolves the performance degradation issue of AR devices caused by heat accumulation and simultaneously enhances the heat dissipation efficiency. ‌

High thermal conductivity combined with low-stress cutting technology can greatly improve the "rainbow pattern" problem of optical waveguide lenses. Meanwhile, in combination with the integrated heat dissipation design of the waveguide sheet, the operating temperature of the opto-mechanical system can be reduced and the heat dissipation problem can be improved.

(5) Support

The mechanical strength, wear resistance and thermal stability of SiC ensure the structural stability of optical waveguides during long-term use, especially suitable for scenarios requiring high-precision optical components, such as space telescopes and AR glasses.

The characteristics of the above-mentioned SiC material have broken through the bottlenecks of traditional optical waveguides in terms of display effect, volume weight and heat dissipation capacity, and have become a key innovation direction in the field of full-color optical waveguides. ‌

ZMSH provide a comprehensive range of high-quality silicon carbide (SiC) substrates, including 4H/6H-N type, 4H/6H-SEMI insulating type, 6H/4H-P type, and 3C-N type polytypes, meeting the demanding requirements of power devices and RF chips. Through proprietary crystal growth technologies and precision processing techniques, we have achieved mass production of large-diameter SiC substrates (2-12 inches) with ultra-low defect density (<100/cm²) and nanoscale surface roughness (Ra <0.2nm), making them particularly suitable for high-precision optical components such as space telescope mirrors and AR optical modules. With complete vertical integration from crystal growth, wafer processing to quality certification, ZMSH offer one-stop solutions with customizable specifications to help customers overcome technical barriers.
 

ZMSH's SiC wafer 3C-N type：

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