I think that it is a much larger issue, and gives a significant edge to SiC in the near future. In a laser, the thought of a mesa type structure is really scary, and I don't know of any cases in which it has been attempted on an idustrial scale. I believe that SiC is very manufacturable and scalable from what I hear.
Price is mostly a question of competition which is appearing recently.
The most important drawback of SiC substrates today in my view is that they haven't yet provided the benefits of their conductivity due to the lack of a conductive buffer layer. I think this is the buffer layer technology which may bring SiC to the forefront until bulk GaN is ready to take its place. On Page 60 of III-V Review, Vol 9, No 1, there are projected prices for bulk substrates for the year 2000. This is two orders of magnitude higher than for GaAs and three orders of magnitude higher than silicon. Message Contribution Form Fill out this form to contribute a follow-up to this message.