Meta, Tianke Heda, Mu De Weina, how to cross over silicon carbide AR glasses
With the rapid development of augmented reality (AR) technology, smart glasses, as an important carrier of AR technology, are gradually moving from concept to reality. However, the popularity of smart glasses still faces many technical challenges, especially in terms of display technology, weight, heat dissipation and optical performance. In recent years, silicon carbide (SiC) as an emerging material, with its excellent physical and optical properties, has been widely used in a variety of power semiconductor devices and modules, and now it has also become a key material in the field of AR glasses across the border. The high refractive index, excellent heat dissipation performance and high hardness of silicon carbide make it show great application potential in the display technology, lightweight and heat dissipation of AR glasses. The following will discuss how silicon carbide brings revolutionary changes to smart glasses from the aspects of silicon carbide characteristics, technological breakthroughs, market applications and future prospects.
Characteristics and advantages of silicon carbide
Silicon carbide is a kind of wide band gap semiconductor material with high hardness, high thermal conductivity and high refractive index. These properties give it a wide range of potential applications in electronic devices, optical devices and thermal management. Specific to the field of smart glasses, the advantages of silicon carbide are mainly reflected in the following aspects:
The first is the high refractive index: the refractive index of silicon carbide is as high as 2.6 or more, much higher than that of traditional glasses materials such as resin (1.51-1.74) and glass (1.5-1.9). The high refractive index means that silicon carbide can more effectively constrain light propagation and reduce light energy loss, thereby improving display brightness and field of view (FOV). For example, Meta's Orion AR glasses use silicon carbide waveguide technology to achieve a 70-degree field of view, far exceeding the 40 degrees of traditional glass materials.
It is excellent heat dissipation performance: the thermal conductivity of silicon carbide is hundreds of times that of ordinary glass, and it can conduct heat quickly. For AR glasses, heat dissipation is a key issue, especially in high brightness displays and long periods of use. Silicon carbide lenses can quickly conduct the heat of the optical machine, thereby improving the stability and service life of the equipment.
High hardness and wear resistance: silicon carbide is one of the hardest materials known, its hardness is second only to diamond. This makes the silicon carbide lenses more wear-resistant and suitable for everyday use. In contrast, glass and resin materials are easy to scratch, affecting the user experience.
Fourth, anti-rainbow effect: traditional glass materials are easy to produce rainbow effect in AR glasses, that is, the dynamic color light pattern formed after the reflection of ambient light on the waveguide surface. By optimizing the grating structure, silicon carbide can effectively eliminate the rainbow effect easily produced by traditional glass materials in AR glasses, that is, the dynamic color light pattern formed by the reflection of ambient light on the waveguide surface, thereby improving the display quality.
Technological breakthrough of silicon carbide in AR glasses
In recent years, the technological breakthrough of silicon carbide in the field of AR glasses is mainly reflected in the research and development of diffractive optical waveguide lenses. Diffracted optical waveguide is a display technology based on the diffraction phenomenon of light and the combination of waveguide structure, which can propagate the image generated by the optical machine through the grating in the lens, thereby reducing the lens thickness and making the appearance of AR glasses more similar to ordinary glasses.
In October 2024, Meta (formerly Facebook) used a combination of silicon carbide etched waveguides + microleds in its AR glasses Orion, solving key bottlenecks in field of view, weight and optical artifacts for AR glasses. Pascual Rivera, a Meta optics scientist, said that silicon carbide waveguide technology has revolutionized the display quality of AR glasses, transforming them from a "disco like rainbow spot of light" to a "symphony hall like quiet experience."
In December 2024, Shuoke Crystal successfully developed the world's first 12-inch high-purity semi-insulated silicon carbide single crystal substrate, marking a major breakthrough in the field of silicon carbide materials in the field of large-size substrates. This technology will accelerate the expansion of silicon carbide in new applications such as AR glasses and heat sink. For example, a 12-inch silicon carbide wafer can be made into 8-9 pairs of AR glasses lenses, significantly increasing production efficiency.
Recently, silicon carbide substrate supplier Tianke Heda and micro nano optoelectronic device company Mode Micro Nano jointly established a joint venture company to focus on the development and marketing of AR diffraction optical waveguide lens technology. Tianke Heda, with its technology accumulation in the field of silicon carbide substrates, will provide high-quality silicon carbide substrate products to Munde, while Munde will leverage its advantages in micro-nano optical technology and AR optical waveguide processing to further optimize the performance of diffractive optical waveguides. This collaboration is expected to accelerate technological breakthroughs in AR glasses and drive the industry towards higher performance and lighter weight.
The second generation of silicon carbide AR glasses exhibited by Mode Weina at SPIE AR|VR|MR 2025 weigh only 2.7 grams per lens, the thickness is as thin as 0.55 mm, which is even thinner than the daily wear sunglasses, so that users can hardly feel its existence when wearing, truly "light pack".
Jingsheng Electromechanical also recently said that it is actively promoting industry technological innovation and domestic replacement of the whole industrial chain equipment, as these enterprises accelerate the expansion of production capacity, China is expected to significantly alleviate the global semi-insulated silicon carbide substrate supply and demand contradictions in the next three years. This will help push the optical limits and enable silicon carbide to enable AI+AR applications.
Application case of silicon carbide in AR glasses
In the manufacturing process of silicon carbide waveguide, the Meta team overcame the technical problem of slope etching. Nihar Mohanty, research manager, said bevel etching is a non-traditional grating technique that distributes etched lines at oblique angles to optimize the efficiency of light coupling in and out.
This technological breakthrough has laid the foundation for the large-scale application of silicon carbide in AR glasses. Meta's Orion AR glasses are representative applications of silicon carbide technology in the AR field. By using silicon carbide waveguide technology, Orion achieves a 70-degree field of view Angle and effectively solves problems such as double shadows and rainbow effects.
Giuseppe Carafiore, head of AR waveguide technology at Meta, notes that silicon carbide's high refractive index and thermal conductivity make it an ideal material for AR glasses.
After the material was identified, the next hurdle turned to the fabrication of waveguides - specifically, an unconventional grating technique called bevel etching. "The grating is the nanostructure responsible for coupling light into and out of the lens," explains Carafiore. "For the silicon carbide to work, the grating must be etched with a bevel. The etched lines are not arranged vertically, but at an oblique Angle."
Nihar Mohanty added that they are the first team in the world to achieve slope etching directly on the device, and the entire industry has relied on nanoimprint technology in the past, but this cannot be applied to high refractive index substrates. For this reason, no one had considered the silicon carbide option before.
In 2019, Nihar Mohanty and his team partners jointly built an exclusive production line, before which most semiconductor chip suppliers and foundries lacked relevant equipment because slope etching technology was not yet mature. Therefore, at that time, there was no facility in the world that could produce etched silicon carbide waveguides, and it was impossible to verify the technical feasibility outside the laboratory. Nihar Mohanty further revealed that it was a significant investment and they built the complete production chain. The processing equipment was customized by the partners and the process was developed by Meta itself - initially the equipment was only up to research grade standards because there was no manufacturing grade system at the time, so they then worked with the manufacturing partners to develop the production grade bevel etching equipment and process.
Now that the potential of silicon carbide has been proven, the Meta team is looking forward to the rest of the industry starting to develop their own devices, because the more companies invest in optical grade silicon carbide research and development and equipment development, the more robust the industry ecosystem for consumer AR glasses will be.
Challenges and future prospects of silicon carbide
Although silicon carbide shows great potential in AR glasses, its application still faces some challenges. At present, the price of silicon carbide materials is high, mainly due to its slow growth rate and difficult processing. For example, Meta's Orion AR glasses lenses cost up to $1,000 per lens, which is difficult to meet the needs of the consumer market.
However, with the rapid development of the new energy automobile industry, the cost of silicon carbide is gradually decreasing. In addition, the development of large-size substrates (such as 12 inches) will further drive cost reduction and efficiency. The high hardness of silicon carbide makes it very difficult to process, especially in the micro and nano structure processing, the yield is low.
In the future, with the deep cooperation between silicon carbide substrate manufacturers and micro and nano optical manufacturers, this problem is expected to be solved. The application of silicon carbide in AR glasses is still at an early stage, and more enterprises need to participate in the research and development of optical grade silicon carbide and equipment development. The Meta team is looking forward to other manufacturers in the industry to invest in relevant research and jointly promote the industrial ecological construction of consumer AR glasses.
ZMSH 12inch SiC substrate 4H-N type
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