Breaking Barriers: Room Temperature Bonding of Silicon Carbide and Silicon

In a significant breakthrough for the semiconductor industry, SHW Tech announced in December 2025 that it has successfully achieved direct bonding of Silicon Carbide (SiC) with heterogeneous materials at room temperature. This development overcomes what was previously considered an "almost impossible" challenge in material engineering: the effective bonding of Silicon Carbide with Silicon and Silicon Carbide with Sapphire without high heat.

The core of this innovation lies in addressing the coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch. Traditionally, bonding these materials required high temperatures, leading to warping or cracking due to their different expansion rates. SHW Tech solved this by utilizing a vacuum plasma treatment. This process removes the oxide film on the material surfaces at the atomic level. By creating perfectly clean and active surfaces, the materials can bond instantaneously when brought together under low load, even at room temperature.

This "Room Temperature Bonding" technology is poised to become a foundational technique for next-generation devices. It opens the door for advanced 3D packaging and novel device structures that combine the high-power capabilities of Silicon Carbide with the cost-effectiveness of Silicon or the optical properties of Sapphire. For industries ranging from electric vehicles to advanced optics, this means more efficient, durable, and complex integrated circuits are now within reach.