Disruptive Bizen® transistor technology delivers QJT power transistors with WBG-like performance on standard silicon substrates
5-10x performance increase of Quantum Junction Transistor delivers 1200V/75A in a TO247 package. Power transistor and digital control can be integrated on same silicon in 8 days.
Nottingham, UK, September 2020: Bizen®, the new disruptive wafer process technology, has been verified by physical wafer results and calibration to deliver the same voltage levels, switching speeds and power handling performance of wide bandgap devices, claims developers Search For The Next (SFN). The first devices to use Bizen are members of the QJT (Quantum Junction Transistor) family which will include three parts rated at 1200V/75A, 900V/75A and 650V/32A, available in the industry-standard TO247 or TO263 power MOSFET packages. Of extreme significance is that these devices can be made using standard silicon substrates on conventional, larger-geometry silicon processing lines.
Explains David Summerland, CEO and founder of Nottingham-based Search For The Next (SFN) which invented the Bizen technology: "To get this level of performance from traditional silicon-based MOSFETs, the device size must be much bigger. 1200V/75A in a TO247 housing can be achieved using wide bandgap materials like silicon carbide, but this approach has other well-known issues. SiC, for example, takes much longer to process and has a significant manufacturing carbon footprint. Also, regardless of the roadmaps, SiC does not scale like silicon, and the economic argument that SiC can match silicon does not take into account the advances made possible by Bizen. By contrast, the data we have obtained from physical wafer tests proves that by using Bizen on silicon substrates, our QJTs deliver the same performance as SiC or GaN. Yet the production equipment required to make a QJT is exactly the same as for a standard silicon MOSFET, and the Bizen process adds no extra manufacturing complexity."
​A video covering key milestones of Bizen. Bizen Lands ​20 steps to Bizen.
As a direct result of successful silicon tests, Bizen®, the new transistor technology that is challenging 50 years of MOS in both digital and power, is set to benefit from investment in new process equipment to expedite its development. Already at one wafer run per month with lead time falling as predicted, the initial analysis is very positive for all markets. First products are expected to be announced by the end of this year, with the sought-after PDK released first through early adopters who initially contracted SFN.
Following comprehensive due diligence and initiated by Innovate UK, an award worth £1.7M has been made to Bizen, which will drive forward the development of the enabling transistor process technology that will be the foundation of success for British and worldwide industries in all sectors. Bizen promises to supercharge the UK economy by slashing lead times and reducing wafer area and process layers while increasing speed, cutting power and increasing density. Bizen - future-proofing British Innovation.
Search For The Next – the pioneer of new Bizen transistor technology – is delighted to support the UKESF's Electronics Everywhere campaign which aims to show A-level students how engaging Electronics can be.
https://www.ukesf.org/schools/electronics-everywhere/
"Semefab's CEO, Allan James: The new Bizen transistor architecture can wind back the Moores' Law clock by 10 years+, bringing many wafer fabs back into mainstream manufacture. Semefab and SFN are working flat out to make it a huge success."