The country of origin of an Epitaxial Wafer

N334417 August 30, 2023 OT:RR:NC:N2:209 CATEGORY: Origin Aaron Marx Crowell & Moring, LLP 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, Office #9155Washington, DC 20001 RE:  The country of origin of an Epitaxial Wafer Dear Mr. Marx: In your letter dated August 2, 2023, on behalf of your client, Proterial America, Ltd., you requested a country of origin ruling determination for an Epitaxial Wafer. The item concerned is a silicon-carbon (“SiC”) epitaxial water, part number E009, which is being imported from Japan. The wafer is manufactured in Japan from components made in both Japan and China. An epitaxial wafer is a specific type of semiconductor wafer used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. This type of wafer has an additional layer of “SiC” added to the substrate. This epitaxial layer can be manufactured to very precise requirements. Due to the fact that the dopant concentration of “SiC” substrates (Chinese bare wafer) is not precisely controlled, an epitaxial film layer is necessary to create the intended semiconductor deice. The types of semiconductor devices intended to be manufactured from this wafer (SiC Metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors and/or SiC Schottky barrier diodes) cannot be made without the epitaxial layer, which provides the electrical attributes needed for the specific end use. Dopant concentration and epitaxial film thickness control device electrical resistance and breakdown voltage. Dislocation density affects device reliability. Because bare untreated substrates include many dislocations, semiconductor devices cannot be formed directly on the substrate surface without an epitaxial film on the wafer. The manufacturing process in Japan consists of thirty-five unique steps. Proterial acquires SiC bare substrate from China. The main or principal manufacturing process consists of the following steps (a complete listing of the 35 steps was provided): Acceptance Inspection of the Chinese Substrate. Pre-Polishing Phase. Cleaning and Inspection. Epitaxial Film Deposition. Primary Inspection. Post-Polishing. Secondary Inspection. Packaging. Workers are trained and highly skilled, requiring official qualifications for high pressure gas operations and special gas operations, as well as in-house qualifications for visual inspection. They are required to undergo special training for epi equipment operation and chamber cleaning, jig handling and cleaning, flatness and warpage inspection operation, scratch and defects inspection operation, roughness inspection operation, particle inspection operation, film thickness inspection operation, dopant concentration inspection operation, metal contamination inspection operation, cleaning equipment operation, and lapping and polishing operation. The process requires numerous types of highly specialized equipment in Japan, including epi equipment, inspection equipment, and cleaning equipment. For the character of the product, the epitaxial wafer differs greatly from the SiC bare substrate due to the required standards and specifications. The bare substrate acts only as a support for the thin epitaxial film. Such films are necessary features for the manufacture of semiconductor devices. The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. The "country of origin" is defined in 19 CFR 134.1(b) as "the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the 'country of origin' within the meaning of this part." The test for determining whether a substantial transformation will occur is whether an article emerges from a process with a new name, character or use, different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. See Texas Instruments Inc. v. United States, 69 C.C.P.A. 151 (1982). This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. See National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 C.I.T. 308 (1992), aff'd, 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Based upon the facts presented, it is the opinion of this office that the manufacturing process that takes place in the Japan is substantial and complex. The various components and materials are transformed within Japan into a different article with a new name, character, and use. They lose their separate identities and become an integral part of a new article as a result of the manufacturing process. Accordingly, the country of origin of the SiC epitaxial wafer for country of origin marking purposes would be Japan at the time of importation into the United States.  The SiC epitaxial wafers should be legibly, conspicuously and permanently marked in accordance with the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 to indicate that its country of origin is Japan The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description as identified in the ruling request. This position is clearly set forth in Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. In the event that the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do not conform to these facts at time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and submit a request for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2. Additionally, we note that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by CBP. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs and Border Protection Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, please contact National Import Specialist Steven Pollichino at steven.pollichino@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division