The Next Phase of SiC Research: Pureon Innovation at Penn State

The Next Phase of SiC Research: Pureon Innovation at Penn State

As a founding member of Silicon Carbide Innovation Alliance (SCIA), Pureon is proud to help accelerate breakthroughs in the production of Silicon Carbide (SiC) substrates – a material that is transforming industries such as automotive (EVs), power electronics, and beyond. Over the last six months, two members of our Pureon Innovation team – Chief Innovation Officer Dr. William Gemmill and Carlie Wattinez, Group Leader US Innovation – have been working at and with Penn State University as part of our collaboration with the SCIA to lay the groundwork and drive execution of our joint project.

“It’s an investment and commitment to industry, access to talent – both students and faculty – and a platform for Pureon to maintain its position in the industry”, says Dr. Gemmill. By combining Pureon’s expertise in advanced surface finishing solutions with Penn State’s academic research and infrastructure, SCIA creates a powerful platform where industry leaders, researchers, and students work together to strengthen SiC innovation and competitiveness.

Key Highlights from the Collaboration

  • Project planning: In early August, our team met with SCIA students and staff to align project objectives and timelines. The project goal is to correlate polycrystalline diamond properties to performance and sub-surface damage – the two most critical elements of SiC wafer polishing.
  • Pureon satisfied the material needs in December with both raw polycrystalline diamonds, pads, and slurries. This was a result of the tremendous effort put forth by the PLE production team – with particular recognition to Natasha Stojanovic for her dedication, problem-solving, and steady guidance, which were critical to the team’s success.
  • Pureon will enjoy the use of both SCIA facilities and the state-of-the-art metrology capabilities of the Penn State Materials Research Institute to accomplish the project’s goals. We will gain insight that has been heretofore inaccessible within our own inspection set.
  • Next steps: The next few months will yield tremendous data sets for us to analyze, and the continued collaboration with the SCIA is expected to yield critical inputs for the direction of Pureon’s future of Innovation. We look forward to sharing insightful updates!

 

“Being on site at Penn State gave us the chance to meet the students and faculty driving this work and to see their enthusiasm firsthand. The visit was a great opportunity to exchange ideas and build connections as we move the project forward”, says Carlie Wattinez. This collaboration not only strengthens Pureon’s partnership with Penn State and SCIA but also lays the foundation for meaningful innovation in SiC process development.

 

We’ll keep you posted as the project progresses!