Caracal scientists are at the forefront of the significant technological progress taking place in growth techniques for silicon carbide. The result is larger, more efficient wafers for a wide range of industries, including lighting, electronics and telecommunications.

A lightbulb that lasts 60 years and uses 90 percent less energy. A laptop battery pack smaller than a penny. The elimination of nuclear power on Navy submarines. At first glance, they don't appear to have anything in common.

But for Caracal Inc., these scenarios all share a single trait -- the use of silicon carbide (SiC), which is more efficient than silicon as a substrate material in electronic applications. Unfortunately, it has traditionally been much more expensive to produce.

"Production costs have definitely been the barrier for silicon carbide," says Andy Chomos, CEO of the Ford City-based advanced materials company. "But our innovative process of growing and creating silicon carbide wafers nets a higher yield of superior quality end product at a lower price than standard methods."

SiC is a semiconductor that can dramatically improve energy efficiency in a wide range of industries, including lighting, electronics and telecommunications. It allows components to operate at substantially higher temperatures, voltages and power levels than silicon. This translates into smaller, lighter, simpler electrical systems.

Over the past two years, Ben Franklin has invested $800,000 in Caracal, funds that Chomos describes as critical in helping build the company's first reactor chamber and develop its slicing equipment -- two key pieces of Caracal's proprietary manufacturing process. Beyond the dollars, BFTP has provided valuable counsel.

"As a startup, we deal with many issues," says Chomos. "Michael Morneau [BFTP chief investment officer] is an invaluable part of our team. We recently settled an intellectual property dispute, and we relied heavily on Mike's guidance during those negotiations. As the former corporate counsel to McKesson Automation, he's been at the table on a lot of intellectual property negotiations, and he helped me be much more effective."

"The benefits of widespread SiC usage will be enormous," says Chomos. "In the lighting industry alone, for example, the Department of Energy estimates that LEDs [light-emitting diodes] could reduce U.S. electricity expenditures by a cumulative $125 billion from 2005 to 2025."

Until recently, however, SiC has been difficult to produce economically in the quantity and quality required by manufacturers of today's increasingly complex semiconductor devices. The limited number of wafer sizes -- primarily 2 and 3 inches -- has also been an issue.

"A 4-inch wafer has 78 percent more surface area than a 3-inch wafer, resulting in significant economies of scale. We've produced a 4-inch wafer and are working toward improving its quality," Chomos says. "Larger wafers allow for a greater throughput from the same manufacturing process, enabling us to spread fixed production costs over a larger volume of finished product."

Caracal, which currently employs 10, is at the forefront of technological progress in growth techniques for SiC. The traditional approach uses SiC powders as the starting point to produce a cylinder known as an ingot that is silicon-rich at the beginning and carbon-rich at the end. As a result, the number of commercial-grade wafers available from such ingots is substantially lowered. Caracal's process uses gas rather than powder, which enables the company to control the chemistry during production. The result is larger diameter wafers with uniform consistency throughout.

"We've demonstrated something that this market has not seen before," Chomos says. Caracal made their first commercial sale in April to a customer in the high-frequency market, and Chomos believes electro-optics/high-intensity LEDs, power electronics and radio frequency/radar systems will constitute a $10‑billion‑a‑year market for SiC technology.

"A lightbulb powered by silicon carbide could last 60 years and use only 10 percent of the energy of a conventional bulb," Chomos notes. "Right now a silicon carbide bulb would cost about $60. Our technology can help bring this cost down to $20, making it a lot more attractive for businesses and consumers. We'll see the obsolescence of the incandescent lightbulb."

Caracal recently received two grants from the U.S. Navy totaling $1.4 million. "The Navy understands the long-term potential for silicon carbide and they want to see the costs come down," Chomos notes. "Silicon carbide enables electronic devices to operate up to one hundred times more efficiently, making the prospect of replacing nuclear power on submarines with an electric generator a realistic goal."  

 From the May/June 2006 issue