Infineon signed a supply contract with a Japanese wafer manufacturer to ensure the safety of the supply of silicon carbide as a chip substrate.

News on May 7th, according to foreign media reports, Infineon Technologies AG and Japanese wafer manufacturer Showa Denko KK signed a supply contract to ensure various carbonization, including epitaxy. The supply of silicon (SiC) materials is safe.

It is understood that silicon carbide is an efficient and powerful power semiconductor, especially an indispensable basic material for semiconductors in the fields of photovoltaics, industrial power supplies, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The agreement reached between the two parties means that Infineon will gain more room for maneuver for the indispensable SiC substrate in order to meet the growing demand for semiconductors.

Peter Wawer, president of the company’s industrial power control division, said, “The broad and rapidly growing product portfolio demonstrates Infineon’s leadership in supporting and shaping the SiC-based semiconductor market, which is expected to grow by 30% in the next five years. 40% growth."

"The cooperation with Showa Denko has expanded Infineon’s supplier base, marking a firm step forward in Infineon’s multi-source strategy and providing protection for medium- and long-term growth. In addition, Infineon plans to cooperate with Showa Denko Cooperate in the strategic development of materials to improve quality while reducing costs."

"Showa Denko is very pleased to provide Infineon with first-class SiC materials and cutting-edge epitaxial technology." Showa Denko Corporation executive Jiro Ishikawa said, "Our goal is to continuously improve SiC materials and develop new technologies. Feiling will undoubtedly be an excellent partner in this field."

According to the information released by both parties, the contract period of Infineon and Showa Denko is two years, with an option to extend.

Prior to this, in February 2018, Infineon and Cree announced that they had signed a strategic long-term supply agreement, mainly involving 150 mm (6 inches) silicon carbide products. On November 9, 2020, Infineon signed a five-year silicon carbide round bar contract with GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) in the United States.

Infineon has the most powerful industrial SiC semiconductor product portfolio in the industry. In signing the contract with GTAT, Infineon revealed at the time that “15 of the world’s 20 best-selling electric and hybrid vehicles use Infineon’s silicon carbide chips.”

Recently, Infineon released the latest HybridPACK driver CoolSiC. The news mentioned that since its launch in 2017, there are currently more than 20 electric vehicle platforms that use Infineon’s HybridPACK driver. The current shipments have exceeded 1 million pieces.

According to Infineon, the new SiC power module is already in production and will be available in June 2021.