In 2025, the global smart glasses market is surging at a growth rate exceeding 80%, signaling that AR technology has finally reached the tipping point for mass consumer adoption. Meanwhile, leading industry analyst firm Yole Group forecasts that by 2030, the global AR and smart glasses market will reach 30 million units, marking a steady exit from the decade-long “valley of death.”
On the eve of this market explosion, a quiet yet profound materials revolution is unfolding.
Silicon carbide (SiC)—a key “third-generation semiconductor” material—is emerging as a breakthrough enabler, thanks to its exceptional combination of properties that directly address critical bottlenecks in AR glasses: weight, field of view, and thermal management.
Market Inflection Point：AR Industry Reaches Its “iPhone Moment”
2025 marks the pivotal transition of AR glasses from concept validation to large-scale commercialization. Global smart glasses shipments grew by 82.3% year-over-year in Q1 2025, with the Chinese market surging by an astonishing 116.1%.
This explosive growth stems from the convergence of matured technologies, expanded use cases, and heightened consumer awareness. Industry giants are accelerating mass adoption through diversified product strategies. In September 2025, Meta launched four new smart glasses models, including its first Ray-Ban model with integrated display functionality—clearly signaling the industry’s shift toward lightweight, everyday-wearable AR devices.
Technical Challenges：The Delicate Balance Between Thinness and Performance
Throughout the evolution of AR glasses, the tension between lightweight design and high performance has remained the core challenge.
1. Narrow Field of View
Traditional glass materials have a limited refractive index (~1.0). Achieving a sufficiently wide field of view typically requires thicker lenses, which directly conflicts with the demand for lightweight, sleek form factors.
2. Rainbow Artifacts
Colorful interference fringes appearing at the visual periphery—known as “rainbow artifacts”—stem from nanoscale deformations and errors during grating etching. These severely degrade image quality and user experience.
3. Thermal and Battery Limitations
MicroLED micro-displays must operate at high brightness (e.g., 5,000 nits) to ensure outdoor visibility, generating significant heat that compromises component longevity and system stability.
Silicon Carbide Breakthrough：Three Key Advantages Reshaping AR Glasses Standards
Silicon carbide is emerging as a viable solution to these multifaceted challenges, thanks to its unique physical properties.
1. Optical Performance Breakthrough
With a high refractive index (2.6–2.7)—far surpassing traditional materials—SiC enables AR glasses to achieve fields of view exceeding 80 degrees using ultra-thin, single-layer lens structures, fundamentally resolving the trade-off between field of view and weight.
SiC-based waveguide optics also deliver higher optical efficiency in thinner form factors, providing critical support for lightweight AR designs.
2. Enhanced Image Quality
SiC’s exceptional hardness ensures ultra-high structural precision during nanoscale grating fabrication. This maintains grating fidelity and near-perfect sidewall verticality, effectively suppressing rainbow artifacts at the source and significantly improving image clarity.
3. Thermal Management Revolution
SiC’s thermal conductivity is over 100 times higher than that of conventional glass, allowing it to act as an efficient heat-spreading substrate that rapidly dissipates heat from critical components. This is essential for stable operation under high-brightness (5,000-nit) displays and extended usage scenarios.
Processing Hurdles：The Precision Manufacturing Challenge of Silicon Carbide
Despite its superior performance, silicon carbide presents unique manufacturing challenges due to its extreme hardness and brittleness. AR optical substrates require total thickness variation (TTV) below 1.0 μm—an exceptionally stringent requirement.
As the industry transitions to 8-inch large-diameter substrates, processing complexity intensifies. Larger sizes demand even tighter control over thinning uniformity, surface smoothness, and yield. Additionally, accelerated tool wear and longer processing times significantly increase manufacturing costs.
Overcoming Hard & Brittle Material Challenges to Unlock SiC’s Potential
Shanghai Siplus Semiconductor specializes in SiC substrate slicing, thinning, and polishing technologies. Through precision process control, we address the common challenges of ultra-thin machining of hard-brittle materials.
Our technology ensures that every SiC optical substrate meets the required thickness precision and surface quality, providing a reliable manufacturing foundation for high-performance AR optical lenses. We are committed to enabling cost optimization and scalable adoption of SiC-based AR lenses within the next 3–5 years.
When AR glasses finally approach the weight and form factor of ordinary eyewear—and when display quality and battery life no longer limit user experience—the industry will have truly transitioned from “technology experimentation” to “mass-market adoption.”
In the long race toward AR ubiquity, silicon carbide may not be the flashiest star—but it is undoubtedly the invisible cornerstone supporting the entire ecosystem’s steady advancement.