From November 5 to 7, the 2026 (6th) Carbon-based Semiconductor Materials and Devices Industry Development Forum (CarbonSemi 2026) will be held in Ningbo, Zhejiang. We are honored to invite Dr. Ma Kun, Manager of the Packaging Technology Department at Hefei Archimedes Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., to deliver a keynote report titled "Development Trends of SiC Power Semiconductor Packaging Technology and the Empowerment Path of Diamond".
Recently, Archimedes Semiconductor's "Diamond Inside" SiC power modules have officially rolled off the production line and been shipped, delivering to a domestic electric aircraft customer to be installed in its aircraft power system.
This marks the completion of the first batch of official sample order deliveries in China since the public debut of the "Diamond Inside" technology route, also signaling that diamond-integrated power modules have officially transitioned from exhibition samples to commercial applications in complete machines.
The shipped products adopt the DCM package form, with the baseplate made of diamond composite material. Unlike the common external heat sink attachment scheme, the diamond is embedded inside the module packaging structure in the form of a baseplate, reconstructing the heat conduction path from the chip to the heat sink.
Archimedes Semiconductor is transitioning from a "world-class power semiconductor manufacturer" to a "diamond material, power device, and embedded module manufacturer." The focus of this shift lies in the packaging position—the company is integrating diamond into its already proven module packaging process. The core business remains modules, while the baseplate material is what changes.
In 2025, the Wuhan Archimedes subsidiary was established, focusing on diamond materials and embedded modules, and initiated jointly with leading customers such as Sungrow.
In April 2026, Archimedes Semiconductor publicly unveiled the "Diamond Inside" series 1200V ACP-3S three-level diamond power module for the first time; the disclosed specifications by the company include a 40% reduction in thermal resistance and a 30% system-level weight reduction. The product is compatible with existing standard packages, and its measured performance is over 15% higher than that of mainstream foreign products.
In June 2026, the Wuhan Archimedes diamond material and embedded module project was approved, with a planned investment of CNY 300 million and a designed annual production capacity of 40,000 square meters.
Embedded modules and diamond heat dissipation represent two complementary technology lines. Compared with traditional packaging modules, embedded modules feature smaller packaging sizes, shorter interconnection paths, and can reduce parasitic effects; diamond materials exhibit higher thermal conductivity and lower density compared to traditional ceramics. Together, they point towards high integration and lightweight design. This is a choice of both technology route and competitive strategy.
Archimedes' choice to use diamond to replace the baseplate material, rather than continuing to compete on device specifications, is directly related to the situation in the main battlefield of SiC modules.
Over the past two years, the SiC industry chain has experienced a round of price decline.
According to TankeBlue's prospectus, the average unit price of 6-inch conductive substrates dropped from CNY 4,780.67 per piece in 2023 to CNY 1,695.96 per piece in 2025, a decline of 64.5%; 8-inch substrates fell from CNY 29,417 per piece to CNY 6,172 per piece, a drop of nearly 79%. TankeBlue's operating revenue in 2025 was CNY 956 million, with the overall gross profit margin falling to -20.06%. Wolfspeed filed for bankruptcy protection and shut down its 6-inch production line in June 2025, and SK Siltron announced its exit from the SiC business in July 2026.
Related reading: TankeBlue's IPO Application Accepted, Raising CNY 2.78 Billion for Two Major SiC Industry Chain Projects
SK Siltron Liquidates U.S. SiC Business, Bets on New Growth of 300mm Silicon Wafers in the AI Era
The consolidation at the substrate end reached a turning point in 2026, with the capacity utilization rate of leading enterprises generally exceeding 90%. The gross profit margin of the main business of SICC rebounded to 24.49% in the first half of 2026. However, the issues of specification convergence and low switching costs in the device and module segments have not been resolved along with the substrate prices. This means that there is little room left to compete on device specifications, and some companies are beginning to introduce variables in packaging and materials.
Archimedes Semiconductor is not the first SiC enterprise to incorporate diamond into its product lineup. From substrates and devices to modules, companies at different positions in the industry chain are extending in this direction, each with different entry approaches.
Sanan Optoelectronics' focus lies at the material end. In 2026, the diamond heat sink substrates of its wholly-owned subsidiary Hunan Sanan have been adopted by customers in the civil RF, radar, and laser fields and have entered small-batch shipment. The measured thermal resistance of the laser chip is reduced by 81.1% compared to ceramic substrates, passing the 1,000-hour aging test; the company disclosed at the beginning of the year that it has launched the R&D of fourth-generation semiconductor materials such as gallium oxide and diamond.
Related reading: Breaking! Sanan Optoelectronics Ships Small Batches of Diamond Heat Sinks, Reducing Laser Thermal Resistance by 81%
SICC is also advancing from the SiC substrate side. At the semi-annual performance briefing on September 11, 2026, SICC disclosed that its "Diamond Single Crystal Preparation and Substrate Surface Fine Processing" project has entered the sample stage, using the MPCVD method to grow diamond single crystals, and achieving substrate processing through laser cutting and multi-step processing.
Related reading: SiC Leader Marches into Diamond!
The advantages of diamond are clear: its thermal conductivity is much higher than that of traditional ceramics and copper, and its density is low, making it naturally suitable for scenarios sensitive to weight and power density. It is precisely for this reason that companies at different positions in the industry chain, from substrates and devices to modules, are deploying in this direction.
However, the constraints on this path are equally obvious. The price of 4-inch single-crystal diamond heat spreaders is about CNY 40,000 per piece, and the cost of diamond-copper composite materials is about 3 to 5 times that of pure copper solutions; the industry yield rate of semiconductor-grade diamond heat sink wafers is less than 50%, and standardized solutions for thermal interface materials and bonding processes between diamond and chips have not yet been formed.
Therefore, what the industry chain needs to do next is to bring down costs, increase yield rates, and standardize bonding processes—whoever completes these three tasks first will have the opportunity to secure a position in the next round of volume expansion.