Emerging industries drive the development of third-generation semiconductor materials, and major manufacturers are scrambling to deploy

With the rise of new applications such as 5G and electric vehicles, the third-generation compound semiconductor materials have gradually become the focus of the market. We are optimistic about the advantages and growth of power semiconductor components such as silicon carbide (SiC) in related markets. , Many IDMs, silicon wafers and foundries are competing to expand their layout.

Even though the market has been hit by uncertain factors such as the new crown pneumonia recently, the industry is still actively investing, hoping to gain a firm foothold before the explosive business opportunity comes. More than 95% of the world’s semiconductor components use the first-generation semiconductor material silicon as the basic functional material, which is mainly used in the information and microelectronics industries. With the rise of new applications such as electric vehicles and 5G, high-frequency and high-power components are promoted. Demand grows.

Silicon-based semiconductors are limited by the physical properties of silicon materials, and there are bottlenecks that are not easy to break through in performance, which also makes manufacturers begin to rush into the field of compound semiconductors. The third-generation semiconductor materials include broadband compound semiconductor materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC).

Among them, silicon carbide has the advantages of low on-resistance, high switching frequency, high temperature resistance and high voltage resistance, and can be used in high voltage environments above 1200 volts. Compared with gallium nitride, silicon carbide is more resistant to high temperature and high pressure, and is more suitable for use in harsh environments. It has a wide range of applications, such as wind power, railways and other large vehicles, as well as solar inverters, uninterruptible power systems, and smart grids. , power supply and other high-power applications.

With the development of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, silicon carbide materials are rapidly emerging in the field of new energy vehicles, and the main applications include on-board chargers, step-down converters and inverters.

And according to research institutes HIS and Yole, the global power and power semiconductor market value of silicon carbide wafers will increase from $1.3 billion last year to $5.2 billion in 2025. At present, the silicon carbide wafer market is dominated by CREE, with a market share as high as 60%. Taiwan’s largest silicon wafer manufacturer and the world’s third largest silicon wafer supplier, Universal Crystal, has also actively entered the silicon carbide wafer field. There are products shipped in small quantities.

In August last year, it announced that it signed a long-term contract for silicon carbide wafers with GTAT to ensure a long-term stable supply of silicon carbide wafers that meets market demand to accelerate the development of silicon carbide wafer products. Another Taiwanese silicon wafer fab, Hejing, also continues to pay attention to silicon carbide or gallium nitride products, and is evaluating strategic cooperation, and may form alliances with other manufacturers in the future. SK Siltron, the only semiconductor silicon wafer fab in South Korea, also echoes the material technology autonomy policy recently promoted by the South Korean government.

At the end of February this year, it acquired the silicon carbide wafer business of DuPont, a major American chemical company, and actively entered the next-generation semiconductor wafer technology. In addition to silicon wafer fabs, Taiwan’s investment in the silicon carbide field also includes Hanlei Investment Control (3707-TW), which has the earliest layout, and has established a complete production chain in this field. Its epitaxial silicon wafer factory Jiajing (3016-TW) ) has entered into 4-inch and 6-inch SiC epitaxial silicon wafer foundry services, which have been certified by customers and mass-produced; the same group’s foundry, Hanleike, provides foundry services for SiC Diode and SiC MOSFET.

Newly joined the market, there is also the solar energy factory Tai Chi, which is seeking new business development. Taijishang (2) signed a silicon carbide patent licensing cooperation development contract with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The ink will be inked on silicon carbide crystal growth and substrates, and will initially enter the high-voltage power component application market, and the substrate can be mass-produced in the fourth quarter at the earliest. In terms of IDM factories, in addition to the active layout of IDM factories such as Infineon and ROHM, ON Semiconductor also signed a 5-year silicon carbide material supply agreement with GTAT this month.

Factors such as limited cost, high technical threshold and low product yield make it difficult to popularize silicon carbide wafers in the short term. Under the continuous drive, it is expected to accelerate the development of the silicon carbide wafer industry.