In power semiconductors, GaN and SiC are superior materials to traditional Si, enabling higher speeds, greater energy savings, faster charging, and significantly reducing size, weight, and cost.

Despite a slight decline in demand in the consumer electronics and other end markets in 2022, the SiC/GaN power semiconductor market is relatively strong due to the rapid development of new energy vehicle electric drive systems, photovoltaic energy storage, high-voltage charging piles, rail transit, mobile power sources, data centers, and communication base station power supplies. http://www.ic-bom.com/

01

GaN fast charging capacity

Taking consumer electronics as an example, chargers using GaN chips have a small size and faster charging speed. Since February 2021, the launch of the star product 65W GaN charger at Xiaomi‘s new product launch event has attracted market attention, and the scale of the GaN fast charging market has rapidly increased. From major consumer electronics brands to third-party accessory manufacturers, they have launched fast charging products using GaN technology. Even the most cautious Apple has equipped the latest laptops with a 140W fast charging charger using GaN technology. Currently, the high-power fast charging products of 100 watt GaN have entered a growth period, further accelerating the large-scale expansion of GaN in consumer applications.

02

SiC acceleration boarding

In the field of new energy vehicles, the demand for SiC is very strong, and the industrialization process of SiC on the vehicle is constantly accelerating. SiC is increasingly being used in traction main inverters, on-board charger OBCs, and high and low voltage DC-DC converters. Based on SiC‘s improved main drive performance and range, as well as the application of higher power systems in high-end models, the main engine manufacturer is recognized and willing to pay for it. In the first quarter of 2023 alone, over 20 domestic and foreign car companies have announced or are preparing to launch SiC, including BYD, Tesla, Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Hyundai, etc. Among them, Infineon has signed hundreds of millions of euros of SiC orders with Hyundai Group, and Infineon SiC devices will be used for the main drive electronic control inverters of cars such as Hyundai, Kia, and Janisex; Onsemi has signed a long-term supply agreement with BMW Group (BMW), and its 750V EliteSiC module will be equipped with BMW‘s 400V electric powertrain system; McLaren stated that its 800V inverter will be equipped with SiC modules from Italian semiconductor; The Range Rover announces the adoption of Wolfspeed SiC technology

03

SiC+GaN arouses attention

SiC commercial is more mature than GaN and receives more attention from industry and capital. GaN has unique development potential due to its high-frequency characteristics. Last month, Infineon, a global power semiconductor giant, suddenly acquired GaN startup GaN Systems, while Navitas, a global leader in GaN segmentation, acquired the SiC company GeneSiC as early as August last year. For a while, SiC+GaN has become a hot topic of industry discussion, attracting more market attention! Has SiC and GaN started to roll up? Or does it contain even greater opportunities!

04

Infineon‘s "Beyond Expectations" Acquisition of GaN Systems

Infineon was officially established in 1999 and went public in 2000, making it one of the world‘s leading IDM semiconductor companies. Headquartered in Germany and with global operations, we mainly provide semiconductor and system solutions for automotive and industrial power devices, chip cards, and security applications, and occupy an important position in Si based power semiconductors.

In March 2023, Infineon acquired GaN Systems, a GaN startup, for $830 million. Through this acquisition, Infineon will simultaneously own three main power semiconductor technologies: Si, SiC, and GaN. This acquisition has received attention from the industry, as GaN Systems, which only has GaN business, has almost obtained a valuation similar to Navitas, a leader in the GaN segment!

GaN Systems was established in Ottawa, Canada in 2008 and is a research and design company specializing in GaN power devices. GaN Systems has developed a full power range of GaN power switches, which are widely used in markets such as communication power, industrial power, and transportation power. GaN Systems‘ unique lslandTechnology ® Technological revolution has improved product cost, performance and mass production, making chips smaller and more efficient.

05

Navitas Accelerates Horizontal Mergers and Acquisitions

Navitas was founded in 2014 and is a globally renowned GaN power IC company, officially listed on NASDAQ in the United States in 2021. Headquartered in Ireland, we have research and development centers in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and Los Angeles in the United States. The Navitas GaN IC integrates GaN power and driver as well as protection and control functions, resulting in faster charging speed, higher power density, and stronger energy-saving effects. It is suitable for the mobile, consumer, enterprise, electronic mobile, and new energy markets. Unlike IDM manufacturers such as ST, Onsemi, and Infineon, Navitas, as a GaN device design company, mainly produces IC designs through OEM companies such as TSMC and completes packaging testing through packaging and testing factories such as Amkor. Currently, Navitas has collaborated with more than 12 partners, including X-FAB, to ensure production capacity and delivery capabilities.

In May 2021, Navitas announced a merger deal with Live Oak II and was preparing to go public with a corporate value of $1.04 billion. In October of the same year, Navitas officially landed on NASDAQ, with a market value of over 1.6 billion US dollars on the day of listing and a total financing amount of over 320 million US dollars. This transaction provides financial support for Navitas‘ future growth plan and lays the foundation for subsequent continuous mergers and acquisitions.

In July 2022, it acquired advanced digital isolator manufacturer VDD Tech, whose isolation technology is a key part of Navitas‘ growing power and control integration strategy.

VDD Tech is the creator of advanced digital isolators for next-generation power conversion. Its proprietary modulation technology enables stable, reliable, and efficient power conversion at switching speeds above megahertz. It is crucial to achieve improvements in size, weight, and system cost in high-power markets such as consumer, motor driven, solar, data centers, and electric vehicles.

In August 2022, it acquired GeneSiC, a SiC company, for $278 million, expanding its business line into the SiC market, with Navitas GaNFast+GeneSiC playing a dual role and keeping pace.

In January 2023, $20 million was acquired from Guangdong Xidi Microelectronics Co., Ltd., holding a minority stake in the Si controlled IC joint venture. Navita believes that the specialized Si controller products developed by the joint venture have been optimized and can be combined with Navita‘s GaN power chips, creating new high levels of efficiency, density, cost, and integration.

The international SiC/GaN industry pattern may accelerate its formation

Internationally, traditional semiconductor giants such as Onsemi, ST, and Rohm, as well as SiC/GaN giants, have accelerated the overall layout and business strategy adjustment of the third-generation semiconductor industry, continuously expanding their own scale through investment, expansion, acquisitions, mergers, and other means, and accelerating the formation of international enterprise competition positions. Although the current cost of SiC substrates remains high, and multiple factors such as yield, defects, packaging, and device design need to be considered, and the commercialization of GaN technology and processes is even lower, the trend of industrial development is becoming increasingly clear. With the continuous maturity of SiC/GaN technology and the increasing market demand, the industrial integration advantages of these giants will become increasingly prominent, and their scale will rapidly expand, accelerating their market share occupation, and thus laying the foundation for the industrial landscape.http://www.ic-bom.com/