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Micro Commercial Components received a supplier award in the Semiconductors/Analog category from Syndicat Professionnel de la Distribution en Electronique Industrielle (SPDEI), the French trade union for electronics distributors. Members of this powerful organization include Arrow, Silica, EBV, TTI, RS, Farnell, and others in the region.
MCC values its relationships with SPDEI distributor partners and is honored to accept this award for providing outstanding support and industry collaboration.
The 27th annual SPDEI Awards were given to a total of 27 electronics companies in the following categories:
- Semiconductors/Digital
- Semiconductors/Analog
- Wireless and Sensors
- Display and Embedded
- Passive Components
- Connectivity
- Electromechanical Components, Cables, and Accessories
- Energy
The awards ceremony was held on November 21, 2023, at the Automobile Club de France in Paris. Gilda Goltais, MCC Country Manager for France, Belgium, and North Africa, was in attendance to accept this award. MCC was one of only three companies to win in the Semiconductors/Analog category.
Prior to the awards ceremony, SPDEI held its annual conference, where key challenges, trends, and opportunities — such as French and European regulatory issues and the push for greener solutions and products — were discussed with over 100 industry professionals in attendance.
MCC would like to thank SPDEI for acknowledging the ongoing efforts to provide superior service. And MCC looks forward to supporting SPDEI members for many years to come as the power electronics industry continues to evolve.
Original – Micro Commercial Components
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The Executive Board of Siltronic AG expects a significant improvement in sales and EBITDA by 2028. Thus, the Group sales are expected to exceed EUR 2.2 billion by 2028 and the EBITDA margin to reach the high 30’s per-centage area. Based on the Group sales forecast for 2023, this corresponds to an increase in sales of more than 40 percent. The EBITDA margin will also improve significantly compared to the 28 to 30 percent forecast for 2023. The targets are based on stable overall price and exchange rate developments (EUR/USD: 1.10).
For the upcoming year 2024, Siltronic expects that at least the first half of the year will still be bur-dened by high inventories at chip manufacturers and their customers. On the earnings side, the start-up costs of the new production site in Singapore will have a negative impact on the company’s margin in 2024.
The confidence until 2028 is supported by the increasing relevance of global megatrends such as artificial intelligence, digitalization and electromobility. This will lead to a strong increase in demand for semiconductors and therefore also for wafers. For example, the wafer area required to manu-facture an AI-compatible server is up to eight times larger than that required for a conventional server. The wafer area required for electric vehicles is also 60 to 100 percent higher than for con-ventional combustion vehicles.
The increase in Group profitability will mainly be driven by the expected volume growth and higher cost efficiency, which will be significantly higher than the expected inflation-related cost increases.
Above-average growth in Siltronic’s focus activities
The company expects wafer demand to grow by an average of four to five percent per year until at least 2028 and a positive trend in all segments: Memory, Logic and Power. Growth is expected to be particularly strong for 300 mm wafers, especially in the leading edge area, as well as for wafers for Power applications. Siltronic should be able to benefit from these trends in particular thanks to its good market positions.
The company has made systematic preparations for the expected growth phase with high investments, especially for the construction of a new production fab for 300 mm wafers in Singapore (FabNext) and the improvement of the product mix in Freiberg, Saxony. At the beginning of November 2023, the first wafers were produced in Singapore – slightly earlier than planned. Production will be gradually ramped from the beginning of 2024. In view of the high level of automation and efficient cost structure, Siltronic is aiming for EBITDA margins of more than 50 percent for FabNext in the mid-term.
Siltronic is already characterized by a high level of resilience, which is reflected in its consistently solid margins even in difficult economic times. In addition to its high cost sensitivity, this is primarily due to its close customer relationships. The company has entered into long-term agreements with many of its customers, securing around two thirds of its sales.
“In view of the expected next growth phase driven by megatrends, we have defined medium-term targets for Siltronic up to 2028 against which we will be measured. Group sales are expected to increase to more than EUR 2.2 billion and the EBITDA margin to the high 30’s. Among other things, we will benefit from our new, highly efficient fab in Singapore, our technological leading position and our strength in the Power segment,” commented Dr. Michael Heckmeier, CEO of Siltronic AG, on the development.
Future use of capital focused on securing further growth opportunities, strengthening tech-nology leadership and reducing debt
Siltronic will make investments of around EUR 1.3 billion for the above-mentioned projects in 2023. However, as of September 30, 2023, the company maintains a robust financial position with an eq-uity ratio of 49 percent and holds in excess of EUR 500 million in cash and cash equivalents, along with financial assets.
This reflects a sound and secure financial and balance sheet structure. After reaching the peak of investment activity in 2023, expenditures are expected to noticeably decrease again by more than 50 percent in 2024 alone compared to the previous year. Siltronic will consist-ently invest the cash flows generated in the course of the planned targets in securing organic growth opportunities, expanding automation and digitalization, strengthening its leading technology position and further improving the quality of its balance sheet, including reducing debt.
This also includes a continued strong focus on research and development (R&D) in order to continue to utilize technology-driven competitive advantages in the future. In the medium term, between four and five percent of Group sales are to be invested in R&D activities.
“Despite the peak of our investments in 2023, we are in a very solid position with an equity ratio of almost 50 percent and a high liquidity reserve. From 2024, our capex will fall noticeably, but organic growth with the expansion of FabNext remains our top priority. In addition, we will use the expected cash flows from our growth plan until 2028 to strengthen our leading technology position and im-prove the quality of our balance sheet. This will create sustainable value for all our stakeholders,” adds Claudia Schmitt, CFO of Siltronic AG.
Original – Siltronic
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GaN Systems™, an Infineon Technologies Company, announced the winners for the 9th “GaN Systems Cup” Power Electronics Application Design Competition at the 2023 China Power Electronics and Energy Conversion Congress and the 26th China Power Supply Society Annual Conference & Exhibition (CPEEC & CPSSC 2023), taking place on November 10-13, 2023, in Guangzhou, China. The Xi’an Jiaotong University team’s three-phase inverter prototype design was recognized as the Grand Prize for achieving outstanding efficiency and power density with GaN Systems’ high-performance power transistors.
Since 2015, the Power Electronics Application Design Competition has encouraged over a thousand college students to sharpen their knowledge with practical design experience and explore possibilities in power electronics.
Participation was again unprecedented this year, with 68 teams from 48 top universities submitting project proposals. Out of the 24 teams that entered finals, 10 eventually received recognition. The Xi’an Jiaotong University team earned the Grand Prizes for their outstanding high-efficiency, high-power density three-phase inverter design. With an output power of 500W, an input voltage of 350VDC, and an output voltage of 220VAC with frequency increased from 50Hz to 400Hz and eventually 2000Hz, the team’s design delivered an impressive 15W/in3 power density and average 98% efficiency.
“The power industry is constantly looking for novel approaches to create more powerful, smaller, and faster components that increase overall system power density and efficiency,” said Yunsheng Qu, Senior Manager of Infineon’s Power and Sensor Systems Division, at the award ceremony. “GaN adoption is now at the tipping point in many applications, and developing a pipeline of skilled, talented engineers has become ever-crucial to support such massive market growth potential. I am pleased to see many of the winning entries not only meet the design requirements but go well beyond them.”
Co-located with the GaN Systems Cup, CPEEC & CPSSC 2023 drew a record-breaking 2,600 visitors and nearly 100 exhibitors, making it China’s largest academic event in power electronics. Infineon’s GaN Systems business line showcased an array of groundbreaking power system reference designs for automotive, industrial, and consumer applications. The impressively compact and economical 11kW 800V GaN-based onboard charger reference design was the main attraction in the booth. Visitors also showed a high level of interest in the implementation benefits enabled by the new Gen4 platform and responded positively to the closing of the Infineon acquisition.
Original – GaN Systems
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Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. announced the appointment of Mr. John Malvisi to its Board of Directors and its Audit Committee.
Mr. Malvisi retired in 2021 as a senior partner in Deloitte & Touche LLP’s audit practice with more than 35 years of client service experience. During his career, Mr. Malvisi has managed several of Deloitte’s largest audit clients in the media & entertainment, and consumer products industries. He also spent several years in the firm’s Merger & Acquisition Services Group and National Office.
Mr. Malvisi worked in Deloitte’s National Office Assurance Insights & Analysis Group and Accounting Research Group, where his responsibilities included quality and risk control and consultation on a wide range of accounting and financial reporting issues. He is a graduate of Fordham University, where he received an MBA in public accounting. Mr. Malvisi also served on the Board of Trustees for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York from 2008 through 2022, including its Audit Committee.
Marc Zandman, Executive Chairman of the Board, said of the appointment, “John’s extensive experience and leadership in the accounting and auditing profession, as well as his M&A background and experience in corporate governance matters, bring important perspectives to the Board of Directors. We welcome him to the Board and look forward to his contributions, expertise and insights to Vishay’s strategic direction and growth plans.”
Original – Vishay Intertechnology
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The ever-increasing power demand in data centers and computing applications requires advancements in power efficiency and compact power supply design. Infineon Technologies AG responds to trends on the system level by introducing its new OptiMOS™ 7 family, industry’s first 15 V trench power MOSFET technology. The OptiMOS 7 15 V series primarily targets optimized DC-DC conversion for servers, computing, datacenter, and artificial intelligence applications.
The product portfolio includes the latest PQFN 3.3 x 3.3 mm² Source-Down, with bottom- and dual-side cooling variants in standard- and center-gate footprints. The portfolio also includes a robust PQFN 2 x 2 mm² variant with a reinforced clip. The OptiMOS 7 15 V technology is specifically tailored for DC-DC conversions with low output voltages, particularly in server and computing environments. This advancement aligns with emerging shifts towards high ratio DC-DC conversion in data-center power distribution.
Compared to the established OptiMOS5 25 V, the new OptiMOS 7 15 V achieves a reduction of R DS(on) and FOMQ g by ~30 percent, and FOMQ OSS by ~50 percent by lowering the breakdown voltage. The PQFN 3.3 x 3.3 mm² Source-Down package variants provide a more versatile and effective PCB-design. Furthermore, the PQFN 2 x 2 mm² package provides a pulsed current capability higher than 500 A and a typical R thJC of 1.6 K/W.
By minimizing conduction and switching losses and incorporating advanced packaging technology, thermal management becomes easy and effective, setting new benchmarks both for power density and overall efficiency.
Original – Infineon Technologies
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LATEST NEWS / PROJECTSSTMicroelectronics Signed a 15 year Power Purchase Agreement with ERG for Supply of Renewable Energy
November 24, 2023
2 Min ReadSTMicroelectronics and ERG, a leading European independent producer of energy from renewable sources, through its subsidiary ERG Power Generation, announced that they have signed a fifteen-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the supply of renewable energy to its operations in Italy over the 2024-2038 timeframe. In Italy, ST operates two high-volume semiconductor manufacturing sites in Agrate (near Milan) and Catania as well as multiple R&D, design, and sales and marketing sites.
The agreement is based on the sale by ERG of approximately 250 GWh of renewable energy per year, equivalent to a total volume of 3.75 TWh over 15 years, produced by the Sicilian wind farms of Camporeale near Palermo and Mineo-Militello-Vizzini near Catania. Both are repowering projects – upgraded with state-of-the art technologies for better efficiency and significantly higher power generation with a total installed capacity of 151.4 MW.
Geoff West, EVP and Chief Procurement Officer, STMicroelectronics, commented: “This agreement marks yet another important step towards ST’s goal of becoming carbon neutral in its operations (Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and partially scope 3) by 2027, including the sourcing of 100% renewable energy by 2027. PPAs will play a major role in our transition. Starting in 2024, this PPA with ERG will provide a significant level of renewable energy for ST’s operations in Italy, which includes R&D, design, sales and marketing and large-volume chip manufacturing.”
Paolo Merli, Chief Executive Officer of ERG commented: “We are pleased with this agreement with STMicroelectronics, a leading global technology operator committed, like ERG, to decarbonizing the planet through the use of renewable energy in its industrial processes. This agreement allows us to enhance, following the Partinico-Monreale wind farm, two additional repowering projects through energy sales mechanisms capable of stabilizing revenues, in line with current market standards, ensuring the proper remuneration of invested capital”.
More information about ST’s energy and climate change commitments is available here.
STMicroelectronics was supported by its PPA advisory partners act renewable GmbH, renewable energy consultancy to multinational corporates, Pexapark AG, a renewables market intelligence, software and advisory company, and Parola Associati, external legal counsel.
Original – STMicroelectronics
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AIXTRON SE has officially started the construction of the new innovation center at its headquarters in Herzogenrath, Germany. The leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry is investing around EUR 100 million in 1000m2 of clean room with additional space for the required metrology equipment.
This research facility will feature the latest technologies available in the industry. The first systems are scheduled to move into the new building during the second half of 2024. The official handover is planned for early 2025.
This milestone in the company’s successful history was marked with a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony attended by representatives from politics, science and research as well as key suppliers of the company. The framework for this significant step was a celebration in honor of AIXTRON’s 40th year since its founding: The company started in December 1983 as a spin-off from RWTH Aachen University.
Since that time, AIXTRON has always been at the forefront of innovation and new, groundbreaking semiconductor technologies. The new innovation center continues on this path and forms an important foundation for the company’s continued successful growth.
“We have just completely renewed our portfolio with our successful G10 product family. The demand from our customers is already very high, so we are in the middle of a volume ramp. And we are now also starting to work on the next generation of innovative technical solutions. With this, we will successfully drive forward the electrification of the world with the megatrends of digitalization, electromobility, and energy efficiency. The new innovation center provides us with essential capacities for all of this,” says Dr. Felix Grawert, CEO of AIXTRON SE.
The cleanroom area of the innovation center will be of class ISO 6, expandable up to ISO 4. The new complex, known in the industry as “fab”, will be one of the most compact and complex semiconductor fabs in the world: the area has two sub-levels. The first sub-level accommodates, e.g., the pump filter cabinets of the systems while the facility level houses all supporting processes and systems for the entire infrastructure.
This type of space utilization increases cleanroom efficiency by a factor of up to three compared to the previously used cleanroom areas.
Original – AIXTRON
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Intelligent management of power loads and power sources can make existing power networks more robust in order to handle the growing share of green energy. At the conclusion of the PROGRESSUS research project 22 project partners presented the project’s results in Bari, Italy.
Among other things, a solution was introduced which would make it possible to operate ten to fifteen times more electric car charging stations on a single network connection. In addition, a strategy for tracking electricity from generation all the way to consumption was presented. PROGRESSUS focused on three central topics: Efficient energy conversion, intelligent electricity management and secure network monitoring.
The Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership Joint Undertaking (ECSEL-JU) and the governments of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Spain supported PROGRESSUS with almost 20 million euros. A total of 22 project partners from industry and research participated beginning on 1 April 2020; the project was led by Infineon Technologies AG.
“Decarbonization and electrification go hand in hand. Our power grids will have to perform better and become more stable if they are to handle the growing power volumes and fluctuations in the supply and demand of electricity. This means we need new solutions,” said Thomas Zollver, Senior Vice President Technology & Innovation of the Infineon Connected Secure Systems division.
“The joint research project PROGRESSUS has succeeded in developing a significant number of technologies that can make our existing networks more resilient. The project is thus making an important contribution to freeing our modern lives from fossil energy sources and protecting our climate for future generations.”
The project developed highly efficient electric power converters what minimizes loss while integrating battery storage systems and renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics: The converters integrate ultra-fast sensors and SiC MOSFETs which can be switched at considerably higher speeds.
This makes them suitable for use in new, innovative charge management systems for battery-electric vehicles which reduce the peak power consumption at the site level by as much as 90 percent, without significantly longer charging times. As an alternative the intelligent charging algorithm can support ten to fifteen times more charging stations on the same network connection.
Hardware-based security solutions provide the best possible protection of the communications and data in the power network’s critical infrastructure against manipulation. These solutions also serve as a basis for tracking the energy provided from the point of generation all the way to its consumption. This makes it possible for consumers to prove they are using green electricity.
Joint energy management of multiple buildings can also help relieve power networks. PROGRESSUS project partners have simulated this kind of energy management system based on real data from 16 buildings with photovoltaic systems and energy storage systems. The result: This kind of joint energy management could reduce electricity peak demands present in the public network by an average up to 80 percent, without a negative impact on customers’ needs. This value for the case investigated depends on the season, weather conditions and the configuration of the PV and storage systems.
The findings of the PROGRESSUS project constitute an important contribution to the new products and services which support the achievement of European climate targets.
The 22 partners of the PROGRESSUS research project
- Ceus UG (DE)
- Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (ES)
- devolo AG (DE)
- ElaadNL (NL)
- Enel X Way S.r.l. (IT)
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (DE)
- Greenflux Assets BV (NL)
- Heliox (NL)
- Hybrid Energy Storage Solutions S.L. (ES)
- Infineon Technologies AG (DE)
- Iquadrat Informatica S.L. (ES)
- Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per la Nanoelettronica (IT)
- Acondicionamiento Tarrasense (LEITAT) (ES)
- Mixed Mode GmbH (new company name: Ingenics Digital GmbH) (DE)
- Politecnico di Bari (IT)
- R-DAS, s.r.o. (SK)
- STMicroelectronics S.r.l. (IT)
- Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (SK)
- TH Köln (DE)
- Delft University of Technology (NL)
- Eindhoven University of Technology (NL)
- University of Messina (IT)
Original – Infineon Technologies
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The accelerated transition to electric vehicles has led to significant innovations in charging systems that demand more cost-efficient and high performing power electronics. Addressing this, Infineon Technologies AG expands its 650 V CoolMOS™ CFD7A portfolio by introducing the QDPAK package.
This package family is designed to provide equivalent thermal capabilities with improved electrical performance over the well-known TO247 THD devices, thus enabling efficient energy utilization in onboard chargers and DC-DC converters.
Efficient and powerful electric vehicle charging systems help reduce charging times and vehicle weight, increasing design flexibility and reduce the total cost of ownership of the vehicle. This new addition complements the existing CoolMOS CFD7A series, offering versatility with top-side and bottom-side cooled packages. The QDPAK TSC (top side cooled), enables designers to achieve higher power densities and optimal PCB space utilization.
The 650 V CoolMOS CFD7A offers several important features for reliable operation in high-voltage applications. Thanks to its reduced parasitic source inductance, the device can minimize electromagnetic interference (EMI), ensuring clear signals and consistent performance.
The Kelvin source pin also provides improved precision for current sensing, ensuring accurate measurements even in challenging conditions. With a creepage distance suitable for high voltage applications, as well as high current capability and high power dissipation (P tot) of up to 694 W at 25°C, it is a versatile and powerful device for a wide range of high-voltage applications.
New system designs using 650 V CoolMOS CFD7A in QDPAK TSC will maximize PCB space use, doubling power density and enhancing thermal management via substrate thermal decoupling. This approach simplifies assembly, eliminates board stacking and reduces the need for connectors, thereby lowering system costs. The power switch reduces thermal resistance by up to 35 percent, providing high power dissipation that outperforms standard cooling solutions.
This feature overcomes the thermal limitations of bottom side cooled SMD designs using FR4 PCBs, resulting in a significant boost in system performance. The optimized power loop design locates drivers near the power switch, improving reliability by reducing stray inductance and chip temperatures. Overall, these features contribute to a cost-effective, robust, and efficient system ideal for modern power needs.
As announced in February 2023, the QDPAK TSC package has been registered as a JEDEC standard for high-power applications, helping to establish a broad adoption of TSC in new designs with one standard package design and footprint. To further to accelerate this transition, Infineon will also release additional Automotive Qualified devices in QDPAK TSC for onboard chargers and DC-DC converters in 2024, such as 750 V and 1200 V CoolSiC™ devices.
Original – Infineon Technologies
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Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation has launched the product “HN1D05FE”, a 400 V voltage switching diode. The new product “HN1D05FE” is suitable for applications that require high voltage characteristics such as commercial AC power supply circuits and AC-DC converter circuits for LED illumination. With a 400 V reverse voltage rating, HN1D05FE is suitable for power supply circuits below 200 V, as well as reverse-current protection and surge protection, and more.
In addition, the new product is housed in a SOT-563 package (Toshiba package name: ES6, 1.6 mm × 1.6 mm (typ.), t=0.55 mm (typ.)) to achieve high voltage characteristics in a small size.
Furthermore, built-in two switching diodes allow reducing the number of devices in circuits which use multiple devices.Moreover, the package size is reduced by approximately 70 % and the package height is as low as 50 % compared with the SOT-24 package (Toshiba package name: SMQ, 2.9 mm × 2.9 mm (typ.), t=1.1 mm (typ.)) of Toshiba’s existing product 1SS399. This helps to downsizing and thinning of the set.
Applications
- Consumer equipment (home appliances, OA equipment, PC, etc.)
- Industrial equipment (FA equipment, PV, semiconductor-manufacturing equipment, etc.)
Features
- High reverse voltage : VR = 400 V
- Low leakage current : IR = 0.1 μA (max) (VR = 400 V)
- Small and thin SOT-563 Package : Toshiba Package Name : ES6 (1.6 mm × 1.6 mm (typ.), t = 0.55 mm (typ.))
Original – Toshiba
