The information about TSMC exiting the gallium nitride (GaN) foundry enterprise has shocked the semiconductor trade, additionally laying the groundwork for built-in gadget producers (IDMs) like Infineon Applied sciences to grab the second and fill the vacuum.
Expertise and commerce media are abuzz with how GaN energy gadget manufacturing is totally different from conventional energy semiconductors, and the way it doesn’t create sturdy demand for foundry providers. Trade watchers are additionally pointing to the rising worth stress from Chinese language GaN fabs as a driver for TSMC’s exit.
To supply readability on this matter, EDN lately spoke with Johannes Schoiswohl, senior VP and GM of Enterprise Line GaN Methods at Infineon. We started with asking how GaN manufacturing differs from mainstream silicon fabrication. “They’re basically not so totally different as a result of we begin with a silicon wafer after which develop epitaxy of GaN on high of it,” he stated.
The devoted epitaxial machines conduct the method of rising a GaN layer on high of a silicon substrate. “That’s the important thing distinction,” Schoiswohl added. “From then onward, when GaN epi is grown, we use processes and instruments much like silicon fabrication.”
Determine 1 Johannes Schoiswohl explains the engineering know-how required in GaN fabrication. Supply: Infineon
GaN’s journey to 300 mm
Whereas China’s Innoscience claims to be the world’s largest 8-inch GaN IDM, working a devoted GaN-on-silicon facility, Infineon is hedging its bets on 300-mm GaN manufacturing. The German chipmaker plans to provide the primary 300-mm GaN samples by the tip of 2025 and kickstart quantity manufacturing in 2026.
That may make Infineon the primary semiconductor producer to efficiently develop 300-millimeter GaN energy wafer expertise inside its present high-volume manufacturing infrastructure. “We had been capable of transfer from 6-inch to 8-inch shortly and now to 300-mm as a result of we might use the prevailing silicon tools, and that’s stunning from a capex perspective,” stated Schoiswohl.
Determine 2 GaN manufacturing on 300-mm wafers is technically extra superior and considerably extra environment friendly in comparison with established 200-mm wafers. Supply: Infineon
What’s actually new is the 300-mm epi device, he added. “Shifting to 300-mm fabrication is certainly difficult as a result of there are a whole lot of engineering points that should be resolved,” Schoiswohl stated. The GaN layer on high of the silicon layer has a special crystal construction, which causes a whole lot of pressure and mismatch. Moreover, there may very well be a major quantity of wafer breakage. “It signifies that a whole lot of engineering know-how will go into the 300-mm GaN fabrication,” he stated.
In a report printed in Star Market Day by day, Innoscience CEO Weiwei Luo acknowledged vital obstacles that hinder the business realization of 12-inch or 300-mm GaN wafers. He particularly talked about the shortage of metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) tools able to supporting 300-mm GaN epitaxy; MOCVD is the core tools for the epitaxial development of GaN layers.
Concerning MOVCD instruments for 300-mm wafers, Schoiswohl acknowledged that Infineon is at present within the early levels. “We’re working carefully with MOCVD tools distributors.”
GaN fabrication mannequin
TSMC’s exit has raised questions on why the foundry mannequin is dropping traction in GaN. In accordance with Innoscience CEO Luo, energy GaN gadgets aren’t well-suited for the normal foundry mannequin as a result of they require shut coupling between design, epitaxy, course of, and software. That’s the place the foundry-client mannequin struggles whereas the IDM mannequin provides the agility and management.
Infineon’s Schoiswohl says that GaN manufacturing isn’t low margin, however what you might want to do is guarantee worth creation. “At first, you might want to be cost-competitive,” he stated. “You have to drive down prices aggressively, and for that, you need to have an economical manufacturing expertise, which is 300-mm GaN wafers on this case.”
Second, IDMs like Infineon can innovate on the system degree. “It’s not sufficient to easily develop a GaN transistor,” Schoiswohl stated. “We have to have gate drivers and controllers and thus reveal the way to create a system that gives most worth.”
Determine 3 The system strategy for GaN gadgets enhances value competitiveness. Supply: Infineon
With optimized controllers and gate drivers, engineers can create GaN options that carry the system prices down. That makes GaN a significant and worthwhile enterprise; nevertheless, that is far tougher for a foundry than an IDM.
With 300-mm enablement and a concentrate on the system-level strategy, Schoiswohl is assured that GaN can finally attain value parity with silicon. “The progress on product degree triggers innovation on system degree, the place gate drivers and controller ICs are optimized for high-frequency implementations and new topologies.”
Way forward for GaN expertise
Whereas Infineon is doubling down on GaN manufacturing, Schoiswohl foresees large developments within the efficiency of GaN from a design standpoint. “We’ll see an enormous drop in parasitic capacitance and on-state resistance in a given kind issue.”
That, in flip, might harness the discharge of high-voltage bi-directional switches, the place gadgets are analytically built-in into one die. You can flip it on and off in each instructions, which permits a whole lot of new topologies.
With TSMC’s exit from the GaN fabrication enterprise, will IDMs be the winners on this energy electronics phase? Will GaN heavyweight Infineon be capable of execute its 300-mm GaN roadmap as deliberate? Will different fabs observe swimsuit after TSMC’s departure? These questions make the GaN turf much more enjoyable to look at.
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