Global Courant
Europe’s STMicroelectronics and China’s Sanan Optoelectronics will form a joint venture (JV) in Chongqing, a technical collaboration that promises to boost China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry while pushing the limits of US efforts to expand Chinese semiconductor manufacturing. disturb, underlined.
On June 7, STMicroelectronics said the joint venture will produce silicon carbide or SiC power devices using its proprietary fabrication process on 200mm SiC substrates that will be made in a separate dedicated facility that will be built, owned and operated by Sanan Optoelectronics.
The two companies plan to begin production in the fourth quarter of 2025 and reach maximum target capacity by 2028. In addition to automotive products, the joint venture will make power semiconductors for other industrial and energy applications, such as solar and wind energy.
The joint venture’s total investment is expected to be $3.2 billion, including $2.4 billion in capital expenditures over the next five years. Contributions from the two companies will be complemented by loans and government support.
“The combination of Sanan Optoelectronics’ future 200mm substrate manufacturing facility with the front-end (wafer processing) JV and ST’s existing back-end (assembly and testing) facility in Shenzhen, China will enable ST to offer our Chinese customers a full vertically integrated SiC value chain,” said Jean-Marc Chery, CEO of STMicroelectronics,
It will also provide China with a complete domestic supply chain for SiC power devices now critical to electric vehicle production.
Simon Lin, CEO of Sanan Optoelectronics, added: “The establishment of this joint venture will be an important driving force for the widespread adoption of SiC devices in the Chinese market… (It is also) an important step for the ambitions of Sanan Optoelectronics as a SiC foundry. ”
STMicroelectronics is a Franco-Italian semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Its product lines include analog, industrial, and power conversion integrated circuits (ICs), automotive specialty ICs, discrete and power transistors, microcontroller and microprocessor units, microelectromechanical systems, optical sensors, and proprietary application-specific ICs.
Sanan Optoelectronics, headquartered in Xiamen, China, is mainly engaged in the research, development, production and sales of light-emitting diode (LED) products and semiconductors.
China’s Sanan Optoelectronics is seeking an edge in the SiC business. Image: Twitter
Its semiconductor products include radio frequency (RF) chips for cell phones and cell phone devices and base stations, according to a Reuters company profile. The company is also involved in LED substrates, devices and lighting products; photodiodes; lasers for LiDAR and other applications; solar cells and power semiconductor wafers and devices.
Power semiconductors control the electricity used to run motors, power systems, lighting and other devices by converting electrical power from AC to DC and adjusting voltages to appropriate levels. Most power semiconductors are made of silicon, but the use of SiC is increasing rapidly, including in EV motors and charging systems.
SiC devices are relatively more power efficient and reliable than silicon based devices. They are also more expensive and harder to make, although prices drop as production volumes increase.
The advantages of SiC include resistance to higher voltages, tolerance to a wider temperature and vibration range, and longer device life. More information about power devices, SiC devices and SiC wafers can be found here.
French market research and consultancy firm Yole Developmentpement estimated by 2022, that demand for SiC power devices would grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34% from 2021 to 2027, with automotive applications rising from 63% to 79% of the total.
According to Yole, STMicroelectronics is the world’s third-largest maker of discrete power semiconductors and modules after Infineon and Onsemi, and the largest maker of SiC power semiconductors. Estimates from Yole and other sources indicate that STMicroelectronics holds approximately 50% of the global SiC device market.
STMicroelectronics’ share of the market share of SiC power devices will most likely decline over time as competitors in Europe, the US, Japan and China ramp up production. This makes the company’s new JV in China key to achieving its financial goals, says CEO Chery,
“It is an important step to further scale up our global SiC manufacturing operations, in addition to our continued significant investments in Italy and Singapore,” said Chery. He said the joint venture is expected to help the company reach more than $5 billion in SiC revenue by 2030.
For Sanan Optoelectronics, the JV is crucial to gaining an edge over other Chinese companies working on SiC wafers and devices as part of the country’s effort to strengthen its electric vehicle supply chain and reduce power consumption and CO2 emissions. reduce emissions.
On May 3, German power semiconductor maker Infineon announced it had signed a long-term agreement with China’s TanKeBlue, which will supply it with SiC wafers and ingots.
According to Infineon, “The agreement between Infineon and TanKeBlue contributes to the overall stability of the supply chain, including with regard to the growing demand for SiC semiconductor products for automotive, solar and EV charging applications and energy storage systems in the Chinese market. “
Japanese SiC wafer and device maker Rohm, meanwhile, has formed partnerships with BASiC Semiconductor of Shenzhen for the supply of power modules and Nanjing SemiDrive Technology for the development and production of devices for vehicle cockpit applications.
An 8-inch silicon carbide (SiC) wafer from STMicroelectronics. Image: ZF Press Center
In 2022, STMicroelectronics was the world’s 11th largest semiconductor company by revenue (excluding TSMC and other foundries), according to Gartner market research, and the largest in Europe with integrated device manufacturing facilities in Europe, Morocco, Southeast Asia, and China.
In March 2023, SemiAnalysis reported that STMicroelectronics is rapidly evolving to accelerate and improve the quality of SiC devices through wafer-level burn-in testing.
In September 2021, industry research and news site SemiAnalysis ruled that Sanan Optoelectronic’s claims regarding its SiC wafer manufacturing technology lacked credibility, but it is clear that STMicroelectronics is positive about the capacity and potential of its new Chinese partner.
Follow this writer on Twitter: @ScottFo83517667
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