According to reports, Samsung has spent about 200 billion won to prepare to start producing silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors for power management ics, and plans to use 8-inch wafers to produce such chips, skipping the entry-level 6-inch wafers that many power semiconductor companies have started.

A person familiar with the matter said, “I learned that Samsung Electronics has decided to promote a plan to mix some 8-inch devices used in the LED process developed by SiC and GaN to improve development efficiency.”

SiC and GaN are considered to be the next generation of power semiconductor materials.Compared with traditional silicon, it has excellent high temperature resistance and high voltage durability and power efficiency.Especially the durability of SiC is good, and the demand for it in the automotive market represented by electric vehicles is increasing.Due to the fast switching speed, GaN is evaluated as more suitable for wireless communication in high-frequency environments.

Samsung intends to invest 200 billion won to produce third-generation semiconductor with 8-inch wafers

Samsung established a power semiconductor working group in early 2023 as the first step in manufacturing SiC and GaN semiconductor.In addition to Samsung Semiconductor employees, the LED team and Samsung Advanced Technology Institute (SAIT) also participated in the group.Samsung plans to use 8-inch wafers to manufacture GaN and SiC semiconductor, directly skipping the entry stage of commercial 6-inch wafers for digital power semiconductor.

Micro LED will also be produced with 8-inch wafers, which means that Samsung Advanced Technology Institute enables Samsung Micro LED production to have GaN-related technology.

Samsung's SiC and GaN products that produce 8-inch wafers have attracted widespread attention.At present, SiC products are still mainly produced using 4/6-inch wafers, while GaN products are gradually produced using 8-inch wafers.A Samsung spokesperson said that their SiC semiconductor business is still in the "research stage" and no decision has been made yet.