XiamenMay 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Recently, Sanan Optoelectronics’ subsidiary, Hunan Sanan, has achieved a major breakthrough in low-resistance silicon carbide substrate technology after three years of dedicated research. This makes the company one of the few globally to master this core technology, marking a solidification of Sanan Optoelectronics’ technical strength in core semiconductor materials and providing critical support for high-end application fields such as AI server power supplies and new energy vehicles.
With the rapid development of computing infrastructure such as AI data centers and cloud computing, server power supplies have become a key factor determining data center PUE values and operational costs. Mainstream server power supplies need to meet 80 PLUS Titanium (efficiency ≥96%) and higher energy efficiency standards. Traditional silicon-based devices are approaching their physical limits, making it difficult to balance high efficiency and miniaturization needs.
Solving Industry Challenges, Achieving Both Low Resistance and High Quality
As an ideal alternative material, silicon carbide typically has a relatively high substrate resistivity (around 20mΩ•cm). Further reducing resistance can easily introduce defects such as stacking faults and dislocations, leading to low yields and high costs, which limits its large-scale application in server power supplies. For every 1mΩ•cm reduction in silicon carbide substrate resistance, the device’s on-resistance can decrease by 2%-4%. For server power supplies, this means lower heat generation, smaller heat sinks, and higher switching frequencies, thereby reducing transformer and capacitor sizes and helping power modules move toward ultra-high efficiency (98%-99%) and smaller dimensions.
Sanan Optoelectronics has achieved key breakthroughs in crystal growth, purity control, and defect suppression. The average resistivity of its silicon carbide substrates has been stabilized at 11mΩ•cm, halved compared to the conventional mass-produced 20mΩ•cm. Meanwhile, indicators such as stacking faults, dislocations, micropipes, and surface morphology meet mass production standards, successfully solving the industry challenge of achieving both “low resistance and high quality.”
Reliability Verification: 1000 Hours with Zero Failures, Ready for Mass Production
Notably, this low-resistance silicon carbide substrate is not a laboratory sample but a mature, reliable, and mass-producible product that has undergone rigorous validation. Sanan Optoelectronics has completed the full process verification of epitaxy and devices, with the first batch of supporting chips passing 1000-hour reliability tests with zero failures. Currently, Hunan Sanan is fully capable of mass production and can supply on demand at any time. Customers can seamlessly upgrade without adjusting downstream processes, significantly lowering the application threshold and upgrade costs.
Combined with Size Iteration, Empowering Efficiency in Multiple Fields
Low-resistance silicon carbide substrates bring lower conduction losses, higher power density, and more streamlined thermal management solutions, helping data center power systems move toward Titanium-level and even higher energy efficiency. At the same time, combined with the industry trend of transitioning from 6-inch to 8-inch silicon carbide wafers, manufacturing costs will be further reduced.
Sanan Optoelectronics will continue to deepen research and development in advanced technologies such as low-resistance silicon carbide substrates, accelerating the large-scale penetration of silicon carbide devices in fields such as server power supplies, new energy vehicles, high-voltage fast charging, photovoltaic energy storage, and smart grids. This will drive the third-generation semiconductor industry chain toward high performance, low cost, and high reliability, providing a solid material foundation for the global green energy transition.