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TSMC and STMicroelectronics collaborate again to develop gallium nitride

On February 21, TSMC announced yesterday that it will cooperate with STMicroelectronics to accelerate the adoption of gallium nitride products in the market. STMicroelectronics expects to deliver the first samples to its major customers later this year.

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TSMC and STMicroelectronics will collaborate to accelerate the development of Gallium Nitride (GaN) process technology and bring discrete and integrated GaN components to the market. Through this partnership, STMicroelectronics will use TSMC's gallium nitride process technology to produce its gallium nitride products.


GaN is a wide bandgap semiconductor material. Compared with traditional silicon-based semiconductors, gallium nitride can provide significant advantages to support power applications. These advantages include obtaining greater energy saving benefits at higher powers, and parasitics. Power consumption is significantly reduced; gallium nitride technology also allows more streamlined component designs to support smaller form factors. In addition, compared to silicon-based devices, the switching speed of gallium nitride devices is up to 10 times faster, and at the same time, it can operate at a higher maximum temperature. These powerful material properties make GaN widely applicable to 100V and 650 Automotive, industrial, telecommunications, and specific consumer electronics applications that continue to grow in two voltage ranges.


Specifically, compared to silicon technology, power gallium nitride and gallium nitride integrated circuit products have better benefits in the same process, and can help STMicroelectronics provide the solutions needed for medium-power and high-power applications. , Including converters and chargers for hybrid electric vehicles. Power gallium nitride and gallium nitride integrated circuit technology will help consumer and commercial vehicles accelerate toward the electrification trend.


STMicroelectronics has been deploying third-generation semiconductors for many years, and is one of the major manufacturers promoting the development of commercial applications such as gallium nitride and silicon carbide. In terms of gallium nitride, STMicroelectronics announced in 2018 the cooperation with CEA Tech's research institute Leti to develop silicon-based gallium nitride power switching element manufacturing technology. STMicroelectronics expects to provide the first samples of power gallium nitride discrete components to its major customers later this year, and to provide gallium nitride integrated circuit products in the next few months. At present, gallium nitride is enthusiastically hyped by the market due to the Xiaomi charger. This time STMicroelectronics and TSMC cooperate to accelerate the development of gallium nitride process technology, which is expected to drive the accelerated development of its industrial chain.

Marco Monti, president of ST ’s Automotive Products and Discrete Devices Division, said that this collaboration complements our existing power gallium nitride activities in the Toure region of France and in cooperation with the Electronics and Information Technology Laboratory (CEA-Leti). For power, smart power electronics, and process technology, gallium nitride represents the next major innovation.


Dr. Zhang Xiaoqiang, Deputy General Manager of TSMC Business Development, said that we look forward to working with STMicroelectronics to bring the application of gallium nitride power electronics to industrial and automotive power conversion. TSMC's gallium nitride manufacturing expertise combined with ST's product design and automotive-grade verification capabilities will greatly improve energy efficiency, support industrial and automotive power conversion applications, make them more environmentally friendly, and help accelerate automotive electrification.