manufactured · input
Single-crystal SiC wafers used as the substrate for SiC power MOSFETs/diodes and GaN-on-SiC RF chips. Grown by Physical Vapor Transport (PVT) — 10× slower and 5× more expensive than silicon wafer growth. Wolfspeed (USA) holds 33.7% market share; Chinese producers TanKeBlue and SICC together hold 34%. Wolfspeed filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2025 amid Chinese competition and EV demand slowdown.
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Source countries
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Companies
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Goods affected
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Claims on record
What depends on it
1 essential American goods rely on silicon carbide (sic) substrate wafers somewhere upstream in their supply chain.
Where it comes from
Share of global supply, by country.
| Country | Share of supply |
|---|---|
| CNChina | 35% |
| USUnited States | 34% |
| DEGermany | 11% |
| JPJapan | 8% |
Who makes it
5 companies produce silicon carbide (sic) substrate wafers.
World's largest SiC substrate and RF GaN wafer manufacturer. Controls 33.7% of SiC substrate market and 60% of world SiC materials capacity. Spun out of Cree, Inc. in 2021. Filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy June 2025 after EV demand slowdown and Chinese SiC competition drove a 30% wafer price drop; emerged September 2025 with $4.6B debt eliminated. Building "The Moat" — the world's largest SiC fab in Siler City, NC (2M+ sq ft).
TanKeBlue Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (Beijing; Chinese: 北京天科合达半导体股份有限公司; SZSE: 688552 — listed on STAR Market 2021) is China's largest SiC substrate manufacturer; ~15-18% global market share as of 2024-2025. Founded 2006 as a spin-off from the Institute of Semiconductors (Chinese Academy of Sciences), TanKeBlue produces 4-inch, 6-inch, and early 8-inch SiC substrates. TanKeBlue is a key beneficiary of China's strategic investment in SiC as a domestic semiconductor priority — receiving government support through the National IC Industry Investment Fund (Big Fund) and local Beijing government industrial policy. TanKeBlue's rapid market share growth reflects Chinese subsidized capacity expansion that has compressed global SiC substrate pricing and contributed to Wolfspeed's financial distress.
Major SiC substrate manufacturer (13.9% market share) formed from the merger of II-VI and Coherent (2022). Received $500M investments from both Denso and Mitsubishi Electric (2021) for SiC capacity expansion in Easton, PA and Kista, Sweden. Also produces compound semiconductors for defense, telecom, and industrial lasers. Long-term SiC supply agreements with STMicroelectronics.
SICC Co., Ltd. (Shandong Province China; also known as Shandong Tianyue Advanced Materials Technology Co.; SZSE: 688309) is China's #2 SiC substrate manufacturer; ~12-15% global market share. SICC (Silicon Carbide Crystal) was founded 2012 and has rapidly scaled 6-inch SiC substrate production to serve Chinese power electronics customers (BYD, CATL, Huawei power electronics). SICC benefits from provincial Shandong government industrial support and from domestic Chinese EV market demand for SiC power modules. Like TanKeBlue, SICC has contributed to global SiC substrate price compression as Chinese capacity has expanded faster than global demand.
SiCrystal GmbH (Nuremberg, Bavaria Germany; 100% subsidiary of Rohm Co., Ltd., Kyoto Japan since 2009 acquisition) is Europe's largest and the world's #3 SiC substrate manufacturer; approximately 10-12% global market share. SiCrystal produces 4-inch and 6-inch SiC substrates (n-type and semi-insulating) from its Nuremberg facility for Rohm's internal power device supply chain and external customers. Rohm Semiconductor's acquisition of SiCrystal in 2009 gave a major Japanese power semiconductor company a European SiC substrate anchor — enabling Rohm to be one of the few vertically integrated SiC companies (substrate → epitaxy → device). SiCrystal's Nuremberg location makes it the primary European-controlled SiC substrate source, relevant for European automotive supply chain security given EU dependency on US (Wolfspeed) and Japanese (Rohm) SiC sources.
