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Navitas Semiconductor extended its new portfolio of Gen-3 ‘Fast’ (G3F) 650 V SiC MOSFETs into a thermally-enhanced, rugged, high-speed, surface-mount TOLL (Transistor Outline Leadless) package designed for demanding, high-power, high-reliability applications.
Combining high-power capability and best-in-class low on-resistance of 20 to 55 mΩ, these 650 V SiC MOSFETs have been optimized for the fastest switching speed, highest efficiency, and increased power density demanded by applications such as AI data center power supplies, EV charging and energy storage and solar solutions (ESS).
Navitas’ GeneSiC products use a proprietary ‘trench-assisted planar’ technology that provides world-leading efficiency performance over the temperature range, with G3F MOSFETs delivering high-speed, cool-running performance that ensures up to 25°C lower case temperatures and up to 3x longer life than alternative SiC products.
Navitas’ latest 4.5 kW AI power system reference design features the G3F45MT60L (650V 40 mΩ, TOLL) G3F SiC MOSFET in an interleaved CCM-TP PFC topology. Complemented by the NV6515 (650V, 35mΩ, TOLL) GaNSafe™ Power IC in the LLC stage, the 4.5 kW solution has a peak efficiency above 97% and, at 137 W/inch3, it is the world’s highest power density AI PSU. For 400 V-rated EV battery systems, G3F in TOLL is an ideal technology for on-board chargers (OBC), DC-DC converters, and traction drives ranging from 6.6 to 22 kW.
The surface-mount TOLL package offers a 9% reduction in junction-to-case thermal resistance (RTH,J-C), 30% smaller PCB footprint, 50% lower height, and 60% smaller size than the traditional D2PAK-7L, enabling highest-power-density solutions, as demonstrated in the 4.5 kW AI solution. Additionally, with a minimal package inductance of only 2 nH, excellent fast-switching performance and lowest dynamic losses are achieved.
The G3F family in TOLL package is released and available for purchase.
Original – Navitas Semiconductor
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Renesas Electronics Corporation and Altium Limited announced the successful completion of the acquisition of Altium by Renesas. The definitive agreement to acquire Altium was announced on February 15, 2024.
The combination sets the foundation for Renesas and Altium to create an innovative electronics system design and lifecycle management platform. The platform will deliver integration and standardization of various electronic design data and functions and enhanced component lifecycle management, while enabling seamless digital iteration of design processes to increase overall productivity. This brings significantly faster innovation and lowers barriers to entry for system designers by reducing development resources and inefficiencies.
“This is a historical milestone for both Renesas and Altium as we take another important step forward in bringing enhanced user experience for electronics system designers,”said Hidetoshi Shibata, CEO of Renesas. “The integrated and open electronics system design and lifecycle management platform we aim to build together will make electronics accessible to broader market, for any enterprises regardless of their size or industry. I want to reaffirm that our commitment to upholding data security and compliance of the Altium customers will continue to be our top priority. With the addition of Altium’s design software and cloud platform capabilities, we are excited to change the future of electronics system design with Aram and his industry-leading, talented software engineering team”
With the transaction now closed, Altium is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Renesas. Altium CEO Aram Mirkazemi has assumed the role of Senior Vice President and Head of Renesas’ Software & Digitalization. He concurrently serves as CEO of Altium.
“This is a pivotal moment for Altium and marks the beginning of an exciting future with Renesas,” said Aram Mirkazemi, CEO of Altium. “With Renesas’ support and expertise, we are looking forward to accelerating the cloud-enablement of all industry processes associated with electronics design and development. This will make electronics accessible to a broader market and lay the foundation for software defined products.”
Renesas’ acquisition of Altium has been effected today by way of a Scheme of Arrangement under Australian law (“Scheme”). Under the terms of the Scheme, Renesas Electronics NSW Pty Ltd, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Renesas, acquired all of the outstanding shares of Altium for A$68.50 in cash per share, for a total equity value of approximately A$9.1 billion (approximately 887.9 billion yen at an exchange rate of 97 yen to the A$). Renesas funded the acquisition through bank loans. As part of the implementation of the Scheme, Altium ordinary shares were suspended from trading on the Australian Securities Exchange at the close of trading on July 19, 2024, and Altium will be removed from the Official List of the Australian Securities Exchange at the close of trading on August 2, 2024.
Original – Renesas Electronics
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Aehr Test Systems has completed its acquisition of Incal Technology, Inc., a Fremont, California-based, privately held manufacturer of packaged part reliability/burn-in test solutions used by a significant number of leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) semiconductor manufacturers.
Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr Test Systems, commented, “We are very pleased to have closed this acquisition so quickly and seamlessly and to have received such positive feedback on this combination from customers, vendors, shareholders and employees from both companies. We are excited to now bring the combined strengths of both companies to market as we begin engaging with Incal’s customers, which include a significant number of AI industry leaders. This unique combination strongly positions Aehr to capitalize on the significant opportunity within the AI semiconductor market, and expands our addressable market substantially.”
Incal’s high-power capabilities, combined with Aehr’s industry-leading lineup of wafer level test and reliability solutions, uniquely positions Aehr to capitalize on this rapidly growing opportunity within the AI semiconductor market as a turn-key provider of reliability and testing that span from engineering to high volume production.
The acquisition expands Aehr’s product portfolio to include Incal’s highly acclaimed test solutions, particularly its ultra-high-power capabilities for AI accelerators, GPUs, and high-performance computing (HPC) processors. AI semiconductors are among the highest power consumption devices in the entire semiconductor industry, with power levels of recent devices reaching 1,000 watts or more, well beyond any existing devices. These previously unseen power levels require new, unique test solutions that Aehr will now provide.
The rapidly growing artificial intelligence semiconductor market is still in the early stages, and we see a significant opportunity in this market for wafer level burn-in using our new high-power FOX multi-wafer production system. In addition, given the unique challenges of testing very high-power devices related to AI processors, there is a very real need for a significant amount of engineering qualification and process development as well as a significant new opportunity for production reliability screening at the packaged part level.
Original – Aehr Test Systems
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Axcelis Technologies, Inc. announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024. The Company reported second quarter revenue of $256.5 million, compared to $252.4 million for the first quarter of 2024. Gross margin for the quarter was 43.8%, compared to 46.0% in the first quarter. Operating profit for the quarter was $52.8 million, compared to $56.5 million for the first quarter. Net income for the quarter was $50.9 million, or $1.55 per diluted share, compared to $51.6 million, or $1.57 per diluted share in the first quarter.
President and CEO Russell Low commented, “Axcelis delivered strong financial results in the second quarter, exceeding our expectations. This was driven by better-than-expected conversion of evaluation units into revenue as well as continued robust demand in our Power segment – particularly silicon carbide, which continues to be a key growth driver for Axcelis. We are well positioned to execute on our long-term strategy. As we look to the second half of the year, we expect revenue to be slightly better than the first half with momentum expected to build into 2025.”
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jamie Coogan said, “We are very pleased with our second quarter results. Revenue, operating margin and earnings per share exceeded our guidance for the period, and we delivered another quarter of healthy cash flow. Our product positioning and our disciplined cost structure provide a solid foundation on which to grow revenue and profitability as our markets recover.”
Business Outlook
For the third quarter ending September 30, 2024, Axcelis expects revenues of approximately $255 million, and earnings per diluted share of approximately $1.43.Original – Axcelis Technologies
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Infineon Technologies AG has completed the sale of its two backend manufacturing sites, one in Cavite, Philippines and one in Cheonan, South Korea, to two fully owned subsidiaries of ASE, a leading provider of independent semiconductor manufacturing services in assembly and test.
ASE will assume operations with current employees, and further develop both sites to support multiple customers. As such, ASE and Infineon have also concluded long-term supply agreements under which Infineon will continue to receive previously established services as well as services for new products to support its customers and fulfill existing commitments.
Original – Infineon Technologies
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Magnachip Semiconductor Corporation announced financial results for the second quarter 2024.
YJ Kim, Magnachip’s CEO, commented, “Our Q2 revenue was above the mid-point of guidance and gross margin was better than expected. Revenue in our Standard Products Business, which is comprised of our MSS and PAS businesses, increased sequentially by double digits in Q2. We benefited from a recovery in our Power business, increased demand for OLED drivers for China smartphones and European autos, and an upturn in Power IC demand for OLED IT panels and LED TVs.”
YJ Kim added, “Looking ahead, we currently expect Standard Product Business revenue will increase sequentially once again in Q3, driven by leaner distribution channels in Power, as well as seasonality, and an increase in OLED and Power IC businesses.”
Financial Highlights
- Q2 consolidated revenue was $53.2 million, above the mid-point of guidance range of $49-54 million.
- Q2 standard product business revenue was up 11.6% sequentially.
- Q2 consolidated gross profit margin was 21.8%, above the upper end of guidance range of 17-19%.
- Q2 standard product business gross profit margin was 23.1%, up nearly two percentage points sequentially.
- Ended Q2 with cash of $132.5 million; and also have an additional short-term financial investment of $30 million.
- Repurchased approximately 0.5 million shares for aggregate purchase price of $2.3 million during the quarter.
Operational Highlights
- Held formal opening ceremony in China for newly formed subsidiary, Magnachip Technology Company, Ltd. (MTC).
- Secured a purchase commitment for OLED driver targeted for a premium smartphone OEM; mass production and revenue currently expected to begin by year-end.
- Delivered samples of our next-generation OLED driver to a panel supplier for a leading Chinese smartphone OEM’s winter 2024 model, now in the final design validation phase.
- Taped out a new OLED driver designed with next-generation IP including sub-pixel rendering (SPR), refined color enhancement, color filter, brightness uniformity control and more than 20% reduction in power consumption than previous generation.
- Sampled our first OLED smartwatch DDIC in Q2 following a Q1 tape-out, demonstrating our expansion into new, adjacent markets.
- Power IC revenue increased sequentially, driven primarily by demand for LCD TVs and OLED IT monitors.
- Sequential revenue growth in PAS segment was driven by industrial, communication and consumer applications. Automotive rebounded with new design wins in Japan and China.
- Launched new 75A/1200V IGBT for a design opportunity in solar applications; expected to begin mass production in the second half of the year.
Original – Magnachip Semiconductor
- Q2 consolidated revenue was $53.2 million, above the mid-point of guidance range of $49-54 million.
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Amkor Technology, Inc. announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024.
Second Quarter 2024 Highlights
- Net sales $1.46 billion
- Gross profit $212 million, operating income $82 million
- Net income $67 million, earnings per diluted share $0.27
- EBITDA $247 million
“Amkor delivered second quarter results in line with expectations. Revenue of $1.46 billion was up 7% sequentially, driven by Advanced packaging supporting premium tier smartphones and AI solutions utilizing 2.5D technology,” said Giel Rutten, Amkor’s president and chief executive officer. “Strength in the Communications and Computing end markets was partially offset by soft demand and ongoing inventory corrections in the Automotive & Industrial and Consumer end markets.”
At June 30, 2024, total cash and short-term investments was $1.5 billion, and total debt was $1.1 billion.
The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.07875 per share on June 24, 2024. The declaration and payment of future dividends, as well as any record and payment dates, are subject to the approval of the Board of Directors.
Business Outlook
The following information presents Amkor’s guidance for the third quarter 2024 (unless otherwise noted):
- Net sales of $1.785 billion to $1.885 billion
- Gross margin of 14.0% to 16.0%
- Net income of $105 million to $140 million, or $0.42 to $0.56 per diluted share
- Full year 2024 capital expenditures of approximately $750 million
Original – Amkor Technology
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DENSO announced global financial results for its first quarter, ending June 30, 2024, for its 2025 fiscal year, ending March 31, 2025:
- Consolidated revenue totaled 1,753.8 billion yen (US$10.9 billion), a 2.4 percent increase from the previous year.
- Consolidated operating profit totaled 120.6 billion yen (US$0.7billion), a 27.7 percent increase from the previous year.
- Consolidated profit attributable to owners of the parent company totaled 94.5billion yen (US$0.6billion), a 10.5 percent increase from the previous year.
“Revenue in the first quarter increased compared to the previous year, due in part to slowing depreciation of the yen, though suspensions of operations by Japanese customers and lower vehicle production volumes due to poor vehicle sales in Asia did affect overall performance. Operating profit in the first quarter increased compared to the previous year due to foreign exchange gains and improvement efforts though lower production volumes.” said Yasushi Matsui, CFO, Vice President and member of the Board of Directors of DENSO CORPORATION.
“In this fiscal year, we forecast 7,330.0 billion yen (US$45.5 billion) in revenue and 692.0 billion yen (US$4.3 billion) in operating profit. In the first quarter, due to the idling of Japanese customers and lower vehicle production volumes in Asia, both sales revenue and operating profit decreased compared to the announced forecast at the beginning of the year. And from the second quarter onward, the impact of suspended operations by customers in Japan is expected to be reduced, but poor vehicle sales, especially in Asia, are expected to continue. On the other hand, the yen is also expected to continue to depreciate. As we navigate these uncertainties, we commit to execute our plan from the second quarter onward announced at the beginning of the year. Based on the above, our forecast of revenue and operating profit reflects only the downside of the first quarter and revise full-year financial forecast downward.”
- In Japan, revenue increased to 984.6illion yen (US$6.1 billion), up 0.4% from the previous year, and operating profit was 45.1 billion yen (US$280.0 million), up 81.6% from the previous year.
- In North America, revenue increased to 500.1 billion yen (US$3.1 billion), up 17.7% from the previous year, and operating profit was 23.3 billion yen (US$144.6 million) up 270.2% from the previous year.
- In Europe, revenue increased to 199.8 billion yen (US$1.2 billion), up 0.7% from the previous year, and operating profit was 5.0 billion yen (US$31.0 million), down 33.0% from the previous year.
- In Asia, revenue increased to 461.4 billion yen (US$2.9 billion), down 0.6% from the previous year and operating profit was 35.8 billion yen (US$222.0 million), down 11.7% from the previous year.
- In other areas, revenue increased to 29.0 billion yen (US$0.2 billion), up 1.8% from the previous year, and operating profit was 5.9 billion yen (US$36.9 million), up 19.5% from the previous year.
Original – DENSO
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Littelfuse, Inc. reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 29, 2024:
- Net sales of $558 million were down 9% versus the prior year period, and down 8% organically
- GAAP diluted EPS was $1.82 and adjusted diluted EPS was $1.97
- Cash flow from operations was $69 million and free cash flow was $50 million
- The company’s Board of Directors approved an 8% increase in the quarterly cash dividend from $0.65 to $0.70; this equates to an annualized dividend of $2.80 per share
- On June 26, the company released its 2023 Sustainability Report on littelfuse.com/about-us/sustainability
“We are pleased to have exceeded the high end of our second quarter sales and adjusted EPS guidance ranges, driven by solid execution from our global teams and supported by our resilient business model and diverse technology positioning.” said Dave Heinzmann, Littelfuse President and Chief Executive Officer. “Looking ahead, we remain confident in an expected return to growth during 2024, likely in the fourth quarter. We see some pockets of normalized channel inventory and improving end demand but also ongoing signs of cautiousness from customers. We remain well positioned to execute our proven long-term growth strategy and deliver top tier stakeholder value.”
Original – Littelfuse
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Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced its consolidated financial results for the first quarter, ended June 30, 2024, of the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2025 (fiscal 2025).
- Q1 FY25: Revenue ¥1,286.4 bn (+¥66.1 bn YoY), Operating Profit ¥58.6 bn (-¥2.3 bn YoY)
- Revenue achieved a new record high due primarily to an increase in the infrastructure segment and the impact of the weaker yen.
- Operating profit remained at the same level YoY due to the impact of a decrease in volume in the factory automation systems business and the impact of rising material and other procurement costs.
- FY25 forecast: Revenue ¥5,390.0 bn (+¥90.0 bn compared to the previous forecast), Operating Profit ¥400.0 bn (unchanged from the previous announcement)
- The revenue forecast has been revised upward partly due to a reconsideration of foreign exchange rates, while incorporating the impact of the delay in market recovery for factory automation systems.
- The company will steadily implement initiatives to achieve earnings targets, including improvements in product prices to reflect the impact of rising procurement costs.
Semiconductor & Device Segment
Revenue (YoY), Billions of yen Operating profit (YoY),
Billions of yenOperating profit margin (YoY), Billions of yen 74.5(+6.3) 11.5(+4.8) 15.5%(+5.7pt) - The market saw robust demand for power modules used in railway & power transmission applications.
- Orders decreased YoY due primarily to a decrease in power modules. Revenue increased YoY due mainly to the impact of the weaker yen as well as an increase in power modules used in automotive applications and other factors.
- Operating profit increased YoY due mainly to increased revenue.
Original – Mitsubishi Electric
