-
Navitas Semiconductor announced the first in a series of strategic manufacturing investments, to increase control, reduce costs and enhance revenue capacity for its GeneSiC silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors.
An initial $20 million investment enables a three-reactor SiC epi-growth facility at the company’s Torrance, CA headquarters. Adding a SiC epitaxial (or “epi”) layer onto a raw SiC wafer is the first step in manufacturing individual SiC power devices. The first AIXTRON G10-SiC epitaxy reactor, with 6” and 8” wafer capability, is expected to be fully qualified and in production in 2024. Navitas views the epi-growth services to be provided by its new facility as a critical process step that could support up to an additional $200 million in annual production. The company expects to continue the use of third-party vendors for additional epi-growth, wafer fabrication and assembly operations.
“We are proud that an important technology innovator such as Navitas chose our new G10-SiC to further accelerate the adoption of SiC in the growing market for energy efficient power devices. This is especially significant as AIXTRON and Navitas are both firm believers and pioneers in the unstoppable advance of GaN and SiC over legacy silicon. It is through partnerships like ours, where highly innovative companies work together, that this important transition can be realized,” says Dr. Felix Grawert, CEO and President of AIXTRON SE.
“Adding a high-quality SiC epi-layer onto a raw SiC wafer is a critical process step prior to individual device manufacturing, and adding the AIXTRON in-house epi capability to existing subcontract process flows expands available capacity, lowers finished wafer cost, increases quality and reduces cycle times”, said Dan Kinzer, Navitas COO / CTO and co-founder. “The development and manufacturing business partnership with Aixtron includes ongoing technical and co-development support.”
Navitas’ investment in internal epi capacity is one of several initiatives in support of the company’s recently-announced $760M customer pipeline of estimated potential future business, based on expressed customer interest for qualified programs. While the conversion of this pipeline into orders or shipments depends on many factors in addition to possessing available capacity, the company expects its epi capacity expansion will provide a favorable return on investment under most anticipated planning scenarios.
Navitas recently completed an $80 million follow-on common stock offering and plans to use proceeds from the offering for strategic manufacturing investments, among other possible uses, including working capital and general corporate purposes.
Original – Navitas Semiconductor
-
LATEST NEWS / PROJECTS / Si / SiC / WBG2 Min Read
onsemi announced that Sineng Electric will integrate onsemi EliteSiC silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs and IGBT-based high-density power integrated modules (PIMs) into its utility-scale solar inverter and industry-first 200kW energy storage system (ESS). The two companies worked together to develop optimized solutions that maximize the performance of solar inverters, energy storage and power conversion systems.
Sineng’s work with onsemi EliteSiC has led to the launch of a utility-scale solar string inverter, which offers simplicity in design, reduced maintenance costs and lower downtimes compared to a centralized inverter solution. The adoption of onsemi’s highly optimized single-stage PIM with multi-level topology in 200KW ESS enables industry leading system efficiency and lower total cost of ownership.
“onsemi supports us in solving the most challenging technical problems such as system-level design, simulations, thermal analysis and creation of sophisticated control algorithms,” said Qiang Wu, chairman of Sineng Electric. “Integrating the highly efficient EliteSiC technology enables us to develop and implement cutting-edge renewable energy solutions tailored to our customers’ needs. In combination with onsemi’s end-to-end SiC supply chain, we have the supply assurance to plan for long-term growth.”
Both companies will continue to collaborate on the development of new high-power products to enable a broader range of renewable energy solutions. As part of this process, Sineng will adopt more EliteSiC products, thereby benefitting from efficiency and scale.
“Together, we will leverage the benefits of onsemi’s high performance products and Sineng Electric’s expertise in power electronics system design to deliver industry leading solutions for sustainable energy applications,” said Asif Jakwani, senior vice president and general manager, Advanced Power Division, onsemi. “Our continuous pursuit to improve overall system efficiency plays a pivotal role in society moving towards the goal of a net-zero emissions future.”
The two companies expect to extend their existing long-term supply agreement (LTSA), signed in late 2022, further demonstrating their commitment to collaboration and innovation.
Original – onsemi
-
LATEST NEWS / PROJECTS4 Min Read
Analog Devices, Inc. announced a new €630 million investment at its European regional headquarters in the Raheen Business Park in Limerick, Ireland. The investment enables the construction of a new, state-of-the-art, 45,000 sq-ft Research & Development and manufacturing facility.
The new facility will support ADI’s development of next-generation signal processing innovations designed to accelerate the digital transformation of Industrial, Automotive, Healthcare, and other sectors. It is expected to triple ADI’s European wafer production capacity and aligns with the company’s goal of doubling its internal manufacturing capacity to enhance the resiliency of its global supply chain and better serve customer needs. This investment is expected to grow ADI’s employment footprint in the mid-west region of Ireland by 600 new positions, a significant increase to ADI’s current 1,500 employees in Ireland and 3,100 employees in Europe as a whole.
This announcement comes a year after ADI announced a separate investment of €100 million in ADI Catalyst, its 100,000 sq-ft custom-built facility for innovation and collaboration at its Limerick campus. Ireland is also home to ADI’s main European Research and Development Center, which has generated more than 1,000 patents since its inception and has seeded ADI R&D sites throughout Europe in Spain, Italy, UK, Romania, and Germany.
“Since 1976, Ireland has been a critical innovation center for ADI, thanks to its strong academic and research organizations, business ecosystem, and progressive government leadership,” said ADI CEO and Chair Vincent Roche. “This next-generation semiconductor manufacturing facility and expanded R&D team will further extend ADI Limerick’s global influence. Through organic R&D and close collaboration with our customers and ecosystem partners, we are striving to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges and enable a more efficient, safer, and sustainable future.”
The new investment is planned as part of a collaboration within the European Union’s Important Projects of Common European Interest on Microelectronics and Communication Technologies (IPCEI ME/CT) initiative, and will support cross-border collaborative research. ADI’s IPCEI application – Ireland’s first since the inception of the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) initiative – is subject to final approval from the European Commission, and is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.
An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD said: “This is a really significant announcement for Limerick and the Mid-West region, which marks a new chapter in the longstanding relationship between ADI and Ireland. This massive €630 million investment is great news for local employment with lots of jobs being created during the construction phase, and 600 high-end graduate jobs. It means a significant expansion in the size and scale of ADI’s research, innovation, and development, leading to new, highly innovative products.
This investment is further evidence of the Government’s commitment to bringing jobs to the Mid-West. Most IDA jobs created in recent years have been outside of Dublin, and Limerick has done particularly well with its deep talent pool, universities, airport, and infrastructure. This investment will also mean lots of spin-off jobs and contracts for local SMEs and Irish-owned businesses. ADI’s investment is part of Ireland’s commitment to develop Important Projects of Common European Interest, IPCEIs, and will contribute to Europe’s broader microelectronics sector. The future is digital. There can be no such future without microchips and it’s great that Ireland is such an important player in the supply chain.”
Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment Simon Coveney said: “This is a much welcome announcement from Analog Devices and a great vote of confidence in Limerick and the Mid-West. It’s also noteworthy that it’s the latest in a series of major job announcements outside of Dublin. I’m struck not only by the scale of the investment, but also the high quality positions that will result. I’ll be visiting Analog Devices in Boston during a trade mission this week where we’ll be looking forward to many more years of doing business in Ireland.”
IDA Ireland CEO Michael Lohan said: “The technology that ADI will develop at this facility in Limerick is at the very forefront of innovation and has the potential to revolutionise the lives of billions of people across the world. This investment by ADI is intended to strengthen our supply chain resilience for advanced semiconductor processes. We wish continued success to ADI and look forward to our continued partnership. This is a transformational investment for the Limerick site, for the Mid-West region, and for the semiconductor industry in Ireland. IDA Ireland is committed to supporting investments of scale that impact positively on Europe’s semiconductor industry.”
Original – Analog Devices