-
Resonac Corporation (formerly Showa Denko K.K.) and Soitec have signed an agreement to develop 200mm (8-inch) SmartSiC™ silicon carbide (SiC) wafers using Resonac substrates and epitaxy processes, in a major step for the deployment of Soitec’s high-yielding silicon carbide technology in Japan and other international markets.
SmartSiC™ silicon carbide is a disruptive compound semiconductor material providing superior performance and efficiency over silicon in high-growth power applications for electric mobility and industrial processes. It allows for more efficient power conversion, lighter and more compact designs and overall system cost savings – all key factors for success in automotive and industrial systems.
Christophe Maleville, Chief Technology Officer at Soitec, commented: “Silicon carbide is beingadopted for EV and industrial applications, where it brings a significant system cost advantage. To further accelerate this adoption, silicon carbide yield and productivity must be improved. Associating Resonac premium quality SiC materials with Soitec’s unique 200mm (8-inch) SmartSiC™ technology will support volume availability of record quality epi-ready substrate. The combination of our respective technologies and products will optimize these substrates using Resonac’s high-quality epitaxy. Soitec is proud and excited to be partnering with Resonac to develop a best-in-class combined SiC product offering for Japan and the world.”
Makoto Takeda, General Manager of Device Solutions Business Unit at Resonac, commented: “We are delighted to announce this partnership with Soitec, which is fully aligned with our broader commitment to sustainable and energy-efficient semiconductor solutions. By combining Resonac’s high quality monocrystalline silicon carbide wafers with Soitec’s unique SmartSiC™ technology, we will deliver improved production efficiency of 200mm (8-inch) silicon carbide wafers and diversify the epi-wafer supply chain.”
Soitec’s SmartSiC™ silicon carbide wafers, or engineered substrates, are produced using the company’s proprietary SmartCut™ technology to bond an ultra-fine layer of high-quality monoSiC ‘donor’ wafer to a low-resistivity polycrystalline (poly-SiC) ‘handle’ wafer. The resulting engineered substrate delivers significantly improved device performance and manufacturing yields. By allowing multiple re-uses of the prime quality mono-SiC wafer, the process also reduces overall energy consumption during wafer manufacturing.
Soitec has a new fabrication plant at its headquarters in Bernin, France, primarily dedicated to the production of SmartSiC™ wafers for electric vehicles, renewable energy and industrial equipment component applications.
Original – Soitec
-
Resonac Corporation conducted a tour of its Packaging Solution Center (Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture), an R&D facility of backend process of semiconductor manufacturing, for 20 people, who were executives of semiconductor companies and leaders of academic societies and research institutions coming from US and European countries and taking part in the International Semiconductor Executive Summit (ISES) Japan Summit 2024 held in Tokyo from March 5th to 6th.
There were 150 participants in the ISES in total. PSC is an open innovation base for materials used in backend process, packaging and evaluation technologies, equipped with a full lineup of manufacturing equipment for advanced semiconductor packages. It is rare for a semiconductor material company to have such a base.
ISES is a summit meeting attended by executives and leaders of major semiconductor companies, equipment and material manufacturers, and academic societies and research institutions. Since 2010, it has been holding events in major regions such as the United States, Europe and Taiwan, and occupies an important position that influences industry trends and decisions as a platform for information exchange, strategy, and discussions on the direction of the semiconductor industry.
This time, it was held in Japan for the first time, and executives of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and leading semiconductor manufacturers including Intel, TSMC, Samsung and AMD gave lectures in the event.
In recent years, with the rapid expansion of generative AI, further evolution of AI semiconductors is required, and semiconductor backend process technologies including 2.xD and 3D package technologies, materials and manufacturing equipment are attracting attention of semiconductor industry stakeholders all over the world. In addition, the cutting-edge backend process materials and manufacturing equipment are areas where Japanese manufacturers lead the world.
This time, the participants of the ISES Japan Summit considered it a valuable opportunity to visit the PSC, which is equipped with Japan’s cutting-edge backend process materials and manufacturing equipment, and see 2.xD, 3D packages and their manufacturing equipment, and took part in the tour after the end of the second day of the summit meeting.
Resonac will continue to actively utilize the PSC to work on research and development of next-generation semiconductor package materials and evaluation/implementation technologies, and accelerate co-creation with other companies.
Original – Resonac
-
Resonac Corporation will take part in a consortium of semiconductor-related manufacturers named “Texas Institute for Electronics”, which is located in the state of Texas, USA. Resonac will be the first Japanese member of TIE as a semiconductor material manufacturer.
TIE is a non-profit organization led by The University of Texas at Austin, and consists of the public and private sectors including the state of Texas, semiconductor manufacturers, defense electronics manufacturers, national laboratories, and academic bodies.
Its aim is to advance the roadmap of cutting-edge semiconductor systems by five years (or more than two generations), and to develop them in the United States.. TIE’s strategic member companies include leading semiconductor manufacturers such as AMD, Inc., Micron Technology, Inc., Intel Corporation, Applied Materials, Inc., etc.
Resonac was invited to participate as the strategic member from the materials manufacturers, as it was recognized by TIE for the comprehensive lineup of materials for the front-end and back-end processes used in advanced semiconductors, R&D organization specializing in semiconductor packaging “Packaging Solution Center,” and track record in operating the consortium “JOINT2” composed of semiconductor-related companies. TIE plans to launch a prototype line for wafer-scale 2xD and 3D advanced packaging starting from the second half of 2024.
Semiconductors support the lives of the people as social infrastructure. Development of leading-edge semiconductors to be used for AI and next-generation telecommunication requires cooperation between manufacturers of devices, materials, and equipment. Resonac will aim to cooperate with other companies through its participation in TIE, research and development of leading-edge technologies and contributions to solutions of problems concerning semiconductors.
Aiming to accomplish its purpose, “Change society through the power of chemistry,” Resonac will strive to promote co-creation, and contribute to improvement in semiconductors’ performance, which is needed by society.
Original – Resonac
-
Resonac Holdings Corporation decided at its Board of Directors meeting on changes in corporate management (directors and audit & supervisory board members) as given below.
Kohei Morikawa (Representative Director; Chairman of the Board) will resign as Representative Director, and will be elected as Chairman of the Board at the Board of Directors meeting which is to be held after the General Meeting of Shareholders in late March 2024.
Keiichi Kamiguchi (Board Director; Managing Corporate Officer; Chief Risk Management Officer (CRO)) will resign as Board Director at the General Meeting of Shareholders in late March 2024. Kiyoshi Nishioka (Outside Board Director) will resign as Outside Board Director at the General Meeting of Shareholders in late March 2024.
Meanwhile, Nori Imai (Corporate Officer; Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO)) will be elected as Board Director at the General Meeting of Shareholders in late March 2024. Kenji Yasukawa (Representative Director; Chairman of the Board, Astellas Pharma Inc.) will be elected as Outside Board Director of REH at the General Meeting of Shareholders in late March 2024.
Jun Tanaka (Audit & Supervisory Board Member) will resign as Audit & Supervisory Board Member at the General Meeting of Shareholders in late March 2024. Kiyomi Saito (Outside Member of Audit & Supervisory Board) will resign as Outside Member of Audit & Supervisory Board at the General Meeting of Shareholders in late March 2024.
Meanwhile, Mitsuo Katayose (Corporate Officer, Resonac Holdings Corporation; General Manager, High Performance Materials Business Headquarters, and General Manager, Life Science Business Headquarters, Resonac Corporation) will be elected as Audit & Supervisory Board Member, REH at the General Meeting of Shareholders in late March 2024.
Kiyoko Toda (former Vice President and Head of International Regulatory Compliance, Japan Branch, American Express International, Inc.) will be elected as Outside Member of Audit & Supervisory Board, REH at the General Meeting of Shareholders in late March 2024.
As of late March 2024, the Board of Directors will consist of Kohei Morikawa (Board Director; Chairman of the Board); Hidehito Takahashi (Representative Director; President and CEO); Hideki Somemiya (Board Director; Managing Corporate Officer; CFO); Tomomitsu Maoka (Board Director; Managing Corporate Officer; CSO/CRO); Nori Imai (Board Director; Managing Corporate Officer; CHRO); Kozo Isshiki, Noriko Morikawa, Tetsuo Tsuneishi, and Kenji Yasukawa (Outside Board Directors).
In addition, Toshiharu Kato will continue serving as Audit & Supervisory Board Member, while Mitsuo Katayose will serve as a newly elected Audit & Supervisory Board Member. Masako Yajima and Yasuyuki Miyasaka will continue serving as Outside Members of the Audit & Supervisory Board, while Kiyoko Toda will serve as a newly elected Outside Member of Audit & Supervisory Board.
Original – Resonac
-
Resonac Holdings Corporation published English version of its integrated report “RESONAC REPORT 2023,” and made it available to the public via the Group’s website.
RESONAC REPORT 2023, which is the first integrated report published with the name of Resonac, is edited under the key concept of “Here We Go,” and introduces financial and non-financial strategies and tactics of the Resonac Group, which aims to be a Co-creative Chemical Company.
The Report thoroughly investigates “Co-creative Chemical Company” which the Resonac Group aims to be, and describes progress in “Resonac’s Human Capital Management” and training of “co-creative talent,” while introducing the Group’s new initiatives including “Resonac Pride Products & Services” which contribute to improvement in customers’ and public welfare through practice of our Purpose, “Change society through the power of chemistry.”
In addition, the Report describes the present situation and future prospects of the Resonac Group including how “Team Takahashi,” the management team of the Resonac Group lead by President and CEO Hidehito Takahashi, functions, dialogue with outside experts about the Group’s human capital management, discussion with an outside director about transformation of the Board of Directors, and conversation and interview between Resonac’s global top and young researchers. Thus, more people appear on the RESONAC REPORT 2023 than those on the integrated report of 2022.
The Resonac Group positions the Report as a tool to give stakeholders better understanding of the Group and promote value creation through dialogue between the Group and stakeholders. It will continue communicating with the stakeholders via dialogue and the Group’s website how the Group is behaving as a Co-creative Chemical Company.
Original – Resonac
-
ORC Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and Resonac Corporation announced that ORC Manufacturing has taken part in the “JOINT2 (Jisso Open Innovation Network of Tops 2)” consortium, which was established under the leadership of Resonac with the aim of developing next-generation semiconductor packaging technologies. As a result, JOINT2 has become a consortium comprised of 13 leading companies in Japan who manufacture semiconductor packaging materials, substrates, and equipment.
As a consortium which has end-to-end testing line of leading-edge technologies covering back-end processes of semiconductor package manufacturing, JOINT2 will accelerate development of technologies for evaluation and manufacturing of next-generation semiconductor packages.
JOINT2 was established in 2021 as a consortium of 12 companies with the aim of establishing next generation semiconductor packaging technologies and evaluation technologies, including 2.5D and 3D packaging through collaboration among member companies. JOINT2 is the successor of “JOINT” consortium, which was established in 2018.
The combination of the member companies’ materials and equipment allows materials and equipment to be evaluated under conditions similar to the semiconductor evaluation tests conducted by customers. This arrangement helps customers save the time and trouble of carrying out individual evaluations for their suppliers and thereby respond to the need of speedy development of semiconductor packages.
Technologies for “back-end processes” of semiconductor-integrated-circuit manufacturing, where semiconductor chips are packaged, are now required to evolve into next-generation technologies that can support 5G and post-5G high-speed data communication systems. Back-end processes consist of many processes, and consume various materials.
Therefore, back-end processes have many technical issues to be solved, and solutions for these issues require collaboration among many companies. Therefore, Japanese manufacturers have large shares in the field of back-end processes of semiconductor package manufacturing because they are good at comparing and adjusting technologies.
ORC Manufacturing is an equipment manufacturer which has forte in optical technologies, and its key product is direct imaging (Dl) system for production of high-density semiconductor packaging substrates. ORC Manufacturing is now developing next-generation Dl system for back-end processes of semiconductor packaging as a part of the project adopted by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
ORC Manufacturing’s participation in JOINT2 reinforces the consortium’s end-to-end testing line of leading-edge back-end process technologies. ORC Manufacturing’s Dl system, which does not require photo-mask preparation, is expected to shorten time-to-market of semiconductor packages, and accelerate technological innovations in back-end processes of semiconductor packaging.
Through its participation in JOINT2, ORC Manufacturing aims to acquire wide-ranging knowledge about back-end processes of semiconductor packaging including process evaluation technologies applicable to pre-imaging through post-imaging, thereby strengthen its capability to offer values to customers.
JOINT2 welcomes the new member, and will further promote open innovation and accelerate the development of more sophisticated evaluation technologies, materials, substrates, and equipment applicable to next-generation semiconductor packaging technologies.
Original – Resonac
