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Renesas Electronics Corporation and Transphorm, Inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which a subsidiary of Renesas will acquire all outstanding shares of Transphorm’s common stock for $5.10 per share in cash, representing a premium of approximately 35% to Transphorm’s closing price on January 10, 2024, a premium of approximately 56% to the volume weighted average price over the last twelve months and a premium of approximately 78% to the volume weighted average price over the last six months.
The transaction values Transphorm at approximately $339 million. The acquisition will provide Renesas with in-house GaN technology, a key next-generation material for power semiconductors, expanding its reach into fast-growing markets such as EVs, computing (data centers, AI, infrastructure), renewable energy, industrial power conversion and fast chargers/adapters.
Demand for highly efficient power systems is increasing as building blocks for carbon neutrality. To address this trend, an industry-wide transition toward wide bandgap (“WBG”) materials, represented by silicon carbide (“SiC”) and GaN, is also being seen. These advanced materials allow a broader range of voltage and switching frequency than conventional silicon-based devices. To build on this momentum, Renesas has announced the establishment of an in-house SiC production line, supported by a 10 year SiC wafer supply agreement.
Renesas now aims to further expand its WBG portfolio with Transphorm’s expertise in GaN, an emerging material that enables higher switching frequency, lower power losses, and smaller form factors. These benefits empower customers’ systems with greater efficiency, smaller and lighter composition, and lower overall cost.
As such, demand for GaN is predicted to grow by more than 50 percent annually, according to an industry study. Renesas will implement Transphorm’s auto-qualified GaN technology to develop new enhanced power solution offerings, such as X-in-1 powertrain solutions for EVs, along with computing, energy, industrial and consumer applications.
“Transphorm is a company uniquely led by a seasoned team rooted in GaN power and with origins from the University of California at Santa Barbara,” said Hidetoshi Shibata, CEO of Renesas. “The addition of Transphorm’s GaN technology builds on our momentum in IGBT and SiC. It will fuel and expand our power portfolio as a key pillar of growth, offering our customers the full ability to choose their optimal power solutions.”
“Combined with Renesas’ world-wide footprint, breadth of solution offerings and customer relationships, we are excited to pave the way for industry-wide adoption of WBG materials and set the stage for significant growth.
This transaction will also allow us to offer further expanded services to our customers and deliver significant immediate cash value to our stockholders,” said Dr. Primit Parikh, Co-founder, President and CEO of Transphorm and Dr. Umesh Mishra, Co-founder and CTO of Transphorm. “Additionally, it will provide a strong platform for our exceptional team to further Transphorm’s leading GaN technology and products.”
The board of directors of Transphorm has unanimously approved the definitive agreement with respect to the transaction and recommended that Transphorm stockholders adopt such definitive agreement and approve the merger. Concurrently with the execution of the definitive agreement, KKR Phorm Investors L.P., which holds approximately 38.6% of Transphorm’s outstanding common stock, has entered into a customary voting agreement with Renesas to vote in favor of the transaction.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of calendar year 2024, subject to Transphorm stockholder approval, required regulatory clearances and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Original – Renesas Electronics
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Infineon Technologies AG has formalized an agreement with silicon carbide (SiC) supplier SK Siltron CSS. Under the agreement, SK Siltron CSS will provide Infineon with competitive and high-quality 150-millimeter SiC wafers, supporting the production of SiC semiconductors. In a subsequent phase, SK Siltron CSS will play an important role in assisting Infineon’s transition to a 200-millimeter wafer diameter.
“For Infineon, supply chain resiliency is about implementing a multi-supplier strategy and thriving in times of adversity to create new growth opportunities and drive decarbonization,” said Angelique van der Burg, Chief Procurement Officer at Infineon. “We are excited to partner with SK Siltron CSS to serve the growing SiC demand of our broad customer base with new energy-efficient and top-quality products, matching the highest standards in the SiC market.”
“With decades of experience in silicon carbide materials and manufacturing, we bring unparalleled knowledge to our sustainably manufactured compound semiconductor solutions. This wealth of experience is a cornerstone in our partnership with Infineon,” said Jianwei Dong, Ph.D., CEO of SK Siltron CSS. “This long-term supply agreement marks the synergy of our extensive expertise and Infineon’s vision to make life easier, safer and greener for generations to come.”
Original – Infineon Technologies
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Navitas Semiconductor announced the appointment of Janet Chou as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, effective upon the filing of Navitas’ 2023 annual report on Form 10‑K expected at the end of February.
Chou will report to Gene Sheridan, President and CEO, and will replace Ron Shelton, Senior Vice President, CFO and Treasurer, who announced his intention to pursue other opportunities effective March 15, 2024. Following the Form 10-K filing, Shelton will provide advice and assistance to Sheridan and transition assistance and support to Chou.
“Under Ron’s financial leadership, we have executed a significant and successful capital raise, built a strong investor and analyst base, and completed three strategic acquisitions—all while delivering predictable and impressive financial results,” said Sheridan. “While I wish Ron all the best in his next career move, I am also very excited to welcome Janet Chou as our new CFO. I am confident her deep experience in financial leadership at global, multi-$B public semiconductor leaders will be invaluable as we scale Navitas to new levels in coming years.”
Chou was previously Vice President and CFO of Global Operations for Western Digital Corporation, a $12 billion Nasdaq-listed developer, manufacturer, and provider of data storage devices and solutions. She was previously CFO of JCET Group Co., Ltd., a $5 billion global semiconductor company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Before that Chou progressed through a series of senior financial management roles at NXP Semiconductors N.V., a $13 billion global semiconductor manufacturer, including VP and CFO for Greater China, and VP and CFO of the Portable & Computing Business Unit.
Chou is a certified public accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Texas, San Antonio, and an MBA from Santa Clara University.
Original – Navitas Semiconductor
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EPC introduces three evaluation boards – EPC9179, EPC9181, and EPC9180 – featuring pulse current laser drivers of 75 A, 125 A, and 231 A , showcasing EPC’s AEC-Q101 GaN FETs. These FETs; EPC2252, EPC2204A, and EPC2218A are 30% smaller and more cost-effective than their predecessors. Designed for both long and short-range automotive lidar systems, these boards expedite solution evaluation with varied input and output options.
All boards share identical functionality, differing only in peak current and pulse width. Utilizing a resonant discharge power stage, they employ a ground-referenced GaN FET driven by LMG1020 gate driver. The GaN FET’s ultrafast switching enables rapid discharge of a charged capacitor through the load’s stray inductance, enabling peak discharge currents of tens to hundreds of amps within nanoseconds.
The printed circuit board is designed to minimize power loops and common source inductance while offering mounting flexibility for laser diodes or alternative loads. To enhance user-friendliness, all boards ship with EPC9989 interposer PCBs, featuring various footprints to accommodate a variety of laser diodes or other loads. Customers can choose one that meets their needs to evaluate the GaN solutions.
The EPC9179/81/80 boards are designed to be triggered from 3.3V logic or differential logic signals such as LVDS. For single-ended inputs, the boards can operate with input voltages down to 2.5 V or 1.8 V with a simple modification. Designing an automotive lidar system is complex, and finding a reliable solution is challenging. The purpose of these evaluation boards is to simplify the evaluation of powerful GaN-based lidar drivers that switch faster and deliver higher pulse current than other semiconductor solutions. For technical details, EPC offers full schematics, bill of materials (BOM), PCB layout files, and a quick start guide on EPC’s website.
“To meet the growing demand for automotive lidar, these cost-effective boards, featuring our latest AEC products, streamline evaluation, reducing time-to-market with exceptional switching performance,” said Alex Lidow, CEO, and co-founder of EPC.
Original – EPC
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BYD honored United Nova Technology (formerly known as Semiconductor Manufacturing Electronics (ShaoXing) Corporation) with “Special Contribution Award” on BYD NEV (New Energy Vehicle) Core Supplier Convention 2023 for being a highly reliable partner in terms of quality and delivery capability.
Since 2021, UNT has engaged in broad cooperation with BYD in multi domains, including power devices such as SiC MOSFET, IGBT, and silicon-based MOSFET, as well as power modules and analog IC for automotive industry.
With the deepening of cooperation, UNT’s products have entered BYD’s ocean series and dynasty series on a large scale. In 2023, the SiC MOSFET manufactured by UNT have been widely installed in BYD’s electric vehicles. Being awarded the “Special Contribution Award” is a full recognition of the continuous contribution and outstanding performance of UNT.
In the future, UNT will continue to deepen its close cooperation with global customers such as BYD, promote technology innovations, and provide customers with more efficient and low-energy consumption solutions to support the vigorous development of the green energy.
Original – United Nova Technology
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onsemi announced the availability of nine new EliteSiC Power Integrated Modules (PIMs) enabling bidirectional charging capabilities for DC ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) chargers and energy storage systems (ESS). The silicon carbide-based solutions will dramatically improve system cost with higher efficiency and simpler cooling mechanisms that can reduce size by up to 40% and weight by up to 52% compared to traditional silicon-based IGBT solutions.
With more compact, lighter charging platforms, designers will have all the key building blocks that are needed to quickly deploy a reliable, efficient and scalable network of DC fast chargers that can charge electric vehicle batteries up to 80% in as little as 15 minutes.
According to J.D. Power’s 2023 Electric Vehicle Consideration Study, nearly half of U.S. consumers note the reason for not purchasing an electric vehicle is the access to charging and the ability to do so quickly, to ensure the driving experience is as easy and seamless as with a traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. In the U.S., the availability of EV chargers needs to quadruple by 2025 and 8x by the end of the decade to keep up with demand and ensure drivers have equitable access to public charging stations.
In turn, this rapid increase in demand for electricity will also put a tremendous strain on current electrical grids, potentially overloading them. To mitigate this problem, bidirectional charging has emerged as a key solution to implement vehicle-to-grid which allows both regular battery charging and the ability to use an EV as an energy storage system to power your home when needed.
This solution helps enable a DC fast charging network and vehicle-to-grid power transfer systems, addressing access and speed with its ability to recharge a vehicle faster than other methods that take hours or even days.
onsemi offers the most comprehensive portfolio of PIMs to address the key topologies on the market. This gives designers the flexibility to pick the right PIM for power conversion stages in their DC fast charging or energy storage system applications. To accelerate the design cycle, advanced piecewise linear electrical circuit simulation (PLECS) models through our Self-Service PLECS model Generator and application simulation with the Elite Power Simulator of this portfolio will also be made available to designers.
For each module, onsemi uses die from the same wafer to ensure more consistency and reliability so designers don’t have to use discretes from different suppliers, which can lead to varying performance results. In addition to its reliability, this module portfolio offers the following benefits:
- Uses the Gen3 M3S SiC MOSFET technology which offers the lowest switching losses and highest efficiency in the industry
- Supports key topologies such as multi-level T-type neutral point clamp (TNPC), half-bridge and full-bridge topologies
- Supports scalable output power from 25 kW to 100 kW, enabling multiple DC fast charging and energy storage systems platforms including bidirectional charging
- Industry-standard F1 and F2 packages with the option of pre-applied Thermal Interface Material (TIM) and press fit pins
- Enables optimal thermal management, avoiding system failure due to overheating
- Full SiC modules offer energy conservation by minimizing power losses, directly translating to cost and energy savings
- Offers more robustness and dependability, ensuring consistent operations
Original – onsemi
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STMicroelectronics has signed a long-term silicon carbide (SiC) supply agreement with Li Auto, a leader in China’s new energy vehicle market that designs, develops, manufactures, and sells smart premium electric vehicles. Under this agreement, STMicroelectronics will provide Li Auto with SiC MOSFET devices to support Li Auto’s strategy around high-voltage battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in various market segments.
As the automotive industry transforms towards electrification and decarbonization, high-voltage BEVs have become a popular choice for car makers. These vehicles offer outstanding energy efficiency and extended mileage. Li Auto, known for its extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), is entering the BEV market with its first-ever high-tech flagship family MPV BEV model premiered in Q4 2023. With plans to introduce more high-voltage BEV models soon, Li Auto will require high volumes of SiC MOSFETs that it will integrate into its traction inverters to ensure superior electric-vehicle performance.
ST’s SiC devices increase performance and efficiency through higher switching frequencies, breakdown voltages, and thermal resistance. These are all particularly critical characteristics at the higher operating voltages required for battery electric vehicles. Li Auto is adopting ST’s advanced third-generation 1200V SiC MOSFET in the traction inverter of its upcoming 800V BEV platform, to ensure industry-leading process stability and performance, efficiency, and reliability.
“Li Auto is committed to providing families with premium EVs exceeding their expectation. This agreement with ST stands as a testament to Li Auto’s unwavering dedication in BEV product development. Collaborating with the renowned global leader in SiC technologies, we anticipate a forthcoming relationship filled with innovation and success,” said Qingpeng MENG, Vice President of Supply Chain, Li Auto.
Holding more than 50% market share in SiC MOSFETs worldwide, ST’s SiC technology has earned high praise from top OEMs for its electric-vehicle performance. It is widely used in onboard chargers and power modules.
“As a world leader in power devices and wide bandgap semiconductor technologies, ST has established long-term supply agreements with major car makers and Tier 1 suppliers. The SiC supply agreement with Li Auto marks a significant step building upon our existing long-term relationship in other automotive applications,” said Henry CAO, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing, China Region, STMicroelectronics. “ST is committed to supporting Li Auto’s ambition to become a top premium electric vehicle brand in China, offering their customers superior vehicle performance and range with our innovative SiC technologies.”
Original – STMicroelectronics
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Teledyne e2v HiRel announced the addition of new space screened versions of its popular 100 V, 90 A and 650 V, 30 A high reliability gallium nitride high electron mobility transistors (GaN HEMTs).
- TDG650E30BSP
- TDG100E90BSP
- TDG100E90TSP
The new parts go through NASA Level 1 or ESA Class 1 screening flow and can be brought up to full Level 1 conformance with extra qualification testing if desired. Typical applications include battery management, dc-dc converters, and space motor drives.
Two new 100 V parts are available with both bottom-side and top-side cooled packaging. One new 650 V 30 A GaN-on-Silicon power transistor is available in a bottom-side cooled package. Each device is available with options for EAR99 or European sourcing.
Teledyne e2v HiRel’s GaN HEMTs feature single wafer lot traceability, extended temperature performance from -55 to +125°C, and low inductance, low thermal resistance packaging.
“Our customers have embraced the previous release of 650 V space screened devices, and we have expanded our portfolio to provide additional options. These GaN HEMT products save customers time and money by providing standard devices without the need for additional screening.” said Mont Taylor, VP of Business Development for Teledyne e2v HiRel. “Our expanded catalog with standard burn-in make it easy for designers to utilize the latest in GaN in their designs.”
Gallium nitride devices have revolutionized power conversion in other industries and are now available in radiation tolerant, plastic encapsulated options that have undergone stringent reliability and electrical testing to help ensure mission critical success. The release of these new GaN HEMTs delivers to customers the efficiency, size, and power-density benefits required in critical aerospace and defense power applications.
Original – Teledyne e2v HiRel
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Dr. Christian Kranert, Group Manager Equipment and Defect Simulation of the Materials Department at Fraunhofer IISB, developed a new software for the fast, full-wafer and automated detection and classification of crystal defects in silicon carbide (SiC) substrates. He also pushed the licensing of his new, so-called x-ray ropography (XRT) toolbox to the users of the x-ray topography measuring device XRTmicron from Rigaku. Another highlight is the establishment of two new SEMI International Standards for 4H-SiC defect quantification using XRT test methods.
These outstanding results confirm the success of the Joint Labs model at Fraunhofer IISB. Joint Labs are an exclusive opportunity to collaborate with Fraunhofer IISB in an industry-compatible laboratory environment.
Rigaku Europe SE and Fraunhofer IISB are operating the Center of Expertise for X-ray Topography, a joint lab that is located at the IISB’s headquarters in Erlangen, Germany. This fruitful collaboration is vividly illustrated by the new business in the field of SiC wafer mapping, which Rigaku has built up around its XRTmicron product line in less than two years.
The new LZE Prize honors Fraunhofer IISB employees for exceptional achievements. The LZE Prize is awarded for outstanding acquisitions or particularly successful collaborations, new networks with domestic and foreign partners or above-average achievements in the transfer of know-how from research to industry. The Leistungszentrum Elektroniksysteme (LZE) is a joint initiative of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Fraunhofer IIS, Fraunhofer IISB, and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), together with industry partners and further research institutes.
Original – Fraunhofer IISB
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Aehr Test Systems announced it has received an initial customer order for a FOX-NP™ wafer level test and burn-in system and a FOX WaferPak™ Aligner to be used for gallium nitride (GaN) power devices. The customer is a leading global supplier of semiconductor devices used in electric vehicles and power infrastructure and adds another major customer to the list of companies using Aehr’s FOX products for wafer level test and burn-in of wide bandgap compound semiconductors. The FOX-NP system, including the FOX WaferPak Aligner, is scheduled to ship and be installed in the current fiscal quarter.
As Aehr’s first gallium nitride customer to order a system, this company selected Aehr due in part to its unique ability to offer a total solution that allows customers to apply thermal and electrical stress conditions to thousands of devices while still in wafer form. Aehr’s cutting-edge technology provides critical geolocation information across the wafer while inducing the extrinsic (early life) failures that would otherwise fail in the field without reducing the long-term reliability or life of the good devices.
Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr Test Systems, commented, “After seeing the positive results from their long and extensive evaluation of our FOX wafer level test systems for their silicon carbide devices, this customer decided to first move forward with our FOX-NP system to test their gallium nitride devices’ long-term reliability failure rates, as well as qualify the production extrinsic failure screening process for their devices in applications where safety, reliability, and/or security are critical.
A key consideration behind their decision is that the FOX-NP system is 100% compatible with the Aehr FOX-XP system that is targeted for high volume production and can support all the test modes needed for both gallium nitride and silicon carbide device testing and burn-in, including high-voltage testing of up to 2,000 volts with full wafer test without electrical arcing that can damage the wafer, which is a distinct advantage of our unique patented technology.
“Similar to silicon carbide, gallium nitride semiconductor MOSFETs are considered wide bandgap devices with much higher efficiencies in terms of power conversion than silicon, with gallium nitride being particularly good for lower power devices such as under 1000 watt power converters used in consumer devices such as cell phones, tablets, and laptop computers, as well as being targeted for automotive power converters for all the electrical systems in automobiles, whether electric vehicles or traditional gasoline automobiles. Gallium nitride MOSFETs are also believed by many industry analysts and technical communities to likely take over silicon as the power converter of choice for photovoltaic (solar panel) applications.
“Gallium nitride and silicon carbide devices both have excellent long-term intrinsic reliability, making them very good for automotive and industrial applications. But both also experience higher than acceptable early life or extrinsic failures related to the material and processing steps. Gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductor suppliers can add a special stress or screening test known as burn-in on 100% of the devices to identify and remove these early life failures so that they can meet the end customers’ target reliability needs. This 100% burn-in requirement is not unique to these devices, as it is also the case with microprocessors and microcontrollers, dynamic random-access memories (DRAM), flash non-volatile memories, as well as many sensors used in automotive and other industrial applications.”
Aehr enables its customers to cost-effectively implement the needed testing and qualification process for semiconductor devices that experience early life failures by not only applying the electrical stress condition to every device on the wafer but by also testing up to 18 wafers at a time using the FOX-XP production test and burn in system. These electrical tests are done with up to thousands of precise calibrated electrical source and measurement instruments per wafer. These tests are done while maintaining the temperature at an accurately programmed thermal temperature across each of the wafers using a direct conduction thermal transfer via a proprietary patented precision thermal chuck per wafer.
The FOX-NP compliments Aehr’s production FOX-XP system by using the exact same test ‘Blades’ that are in the FOX-XP to allow 100% correlation between the results on the FOX-NP to the FOX-XP.
The FOX-XP and FOX-NP systems, available with multiple WaferPak Contactors (full wafer test) or multiple DiePakTM Carriers (singulated die/module test) configurations, are capable of functional test and burn-in/cycling of devices such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride power semiconductors, silicon photonics as well as other optical devices, 2D and 3D sensors, flash memories, magnetic sensors, microcontrollers, and other leading-edge ICs in either wafer form factor, before they are assembled into single or multi-die stacked packages, or in singulated die or module form factor.
Original – Aehr Test Systems
