LONDON — Norstel AB, a Swedish spinoff from Finnish silicon wafer manufacturer Okmetic Oyj in February 2005, has opened its silicon carbide wafer factory in Norrkoping, Sweden.

The plant is focused on producing single crystal SiC materials and has been designed to have minimal impact on the environment, the company said. The plant processes waste gas systems and performs in-house treatment of used process chemicals and waste water. The plant, with a floor area of 2 000 square meters, is located on a green field site 2.5 miles from the center of Norrkoping.

Norstel (Norrkoping, Sweden) makes wide bandgap semiconductor materials, including silicon carbide wafers and silicon carbide epitaxial layers on other substrates. It supplies chip makers who use silicon carbide for power electronics for such applications as hybrid cars, mobile phone base stations and radar systems. Norstel also supplies Charles & Colvard Ltd., which calls silicon carbide "moissanite" and markets the material as jewelry.

"We are now taking a major step towards establishing Norstel as a significant supplier of silicon carbide materials," said Asko Vehanen, chief executive officer of Norstel, in a statement. He said that Norstel production is based on high-temperature chemical vapor deposition (HTCVD) and that this would enable the company to produce large-diameter SiC crystals and wafers cost-effectively. He did not say what diameter wafers Norstel can supply.

The Nordic venture capital companies Eqvitec, Northzone and Creandum are major shareholders in Norstel. At the creation of Norstel Okmetic (Vantaa, Finland) retained a 20 percent stake in the company.