II‐VI Incorporated (Nasdaq: IIVI), a leading provider of components based on reaction-bonded ceramics and metal-matrix composites, today announced that it introduced a new grade of its proprietary reaction-bonded silicon carbide ceramic material, with a record thermal conductivity of 255 W/(m-K), for power electronics applications, including IGBT baseplates.

The growing interest in clean energy is accelerating the electrification of the global energy and transport infrastructure and driving the demand for power electronics that can achieve greater efficiency and reliability. II-VI’s new ceramic is based on a proprietary composition that achieves a market-leading thermal conductivity of 255 W/(m-K) at 25°C, enabling power modules to dissipate heat efficiently, thus optimizing their performance and reliability. Just as important, this breakthrough performance was achieved while maintaining other required characteristics of the materials, such as very high stiffness, lightweight, and a coefficient of thermal expansion that is extremely well matched to power electronics device substrates based on silicon or silicon carbide, ensuring excellent thermal contact.

“We believe that this is the best reaction-bonded silicon carbide ceramic commercially available on the market, with at least 25% greater thermal conductivity than any competing product, demonstrating our differentiated core competency in engineered materials innovation,” said Steve Rummel, Sr. Vice President, Engineered Materials and Laser Optics Business Unit. “We are now planning to equip a new state-of-the-art facility in Vietnam, adding to our three existing production facilities in the U.S., to expand the scale of our manufacturing capacity and market reach of our world-class engineered ceramics and metal-matrix composites, and to provide our customers with supply chain continuity in order to meet the anticipated demand.”

II-VI’s ceramic materials are part of its deep and broad value chain of products for power electronics, along with silicon carbide substrates, epitaxial wafers, and devices for a growing number of power conversion applications, including for industrial electric motors and electric vehicles, as well as for smart and renewable energy grids, microgrids, and storage farms.

II-VI’s broad portfolio of reaction-bonded ceramics and metal-matrix composites enables next-generation semiconductor equipment, including extreme-ultraviolet lithography and related back-end-of-line processing and metrology systems. The combined light weight and strength of II-VI’s materials enable reliable performance in structural, optical, and thermal applications.