German chipmaker Infineon has successfully developed the world’s first 300mm power gallium nitride (GaN) wafers.
The company said that the breakthrough will help to boost the market for GaN-based power chips as the 300mm wafers are “technologically more advanced and significantly more efficient” when compared to 200mm wafers.
The increased wafer diameter also fits 2.3 times as many chips per wafer as the smaller offering. The company successfully manufactured the wafers at its existing power fab in Villach, Austria.
GaN is a wide-bandgap material and can handle higher amounts of power than silicon, meaning GaN-based chips can be more efficient and durable than their silicon counterparts.
“This remarkable success is the result of our innovative strength and the dedicated work of our global team to demonstrate our position as the innovation leader in GaN and power systems,” said Jochen Hanebeck, CEO of Infineon. “The technological breakthrough will be an industry game-changer and enable us to unlock the full potential of gallium nitride.”
He added: “Nearly one year after the acquisition of GaN Systems, we are demonstrating again that we are determined to be a leader in the fast-growing GaN market. As a leader in power systems, Infineon is mastering all three relevant materials: silicon, silicon carbide, and gallium nitride.”
The company will present the first 300mm GaN wafers to the public at the Electronica trade show in November 2024 in Munich.
In August 2024, Infineon started production and launched the first phase of its 200mm silicon carbide chip fab in Kulim, Malaysia. The Kulim 3 fab is the largest of its type in the world and in its first phase will focus on the production of silicon carbide power semiconductors and include GaN epitaxy.
That same month, the company announced it would be cutting 1,400 jobs from its global workforce and relocating an additional 1,400 roles to countries with lower labor costs. The news came after the company posted lower-than-expected Q3 2024 revenue and consequently downgraded its full-year revenue guidance for the third time this year.
Closer to home, Infineon has a 10 percent stake in TSMC’s ESMC (European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) facility in Dresden, Germany. The plant is due to be operational in 2027 and when complete will produce 40,000 wafers a month.
