Rohm reveals SiC plans
Company highlights investments in SiC products and production
At this year’s live event of PCIM, in Nuremberg, Rohm Semiconductor Europe introduces its new power semiconductor solutions focusing on e-mobility and energy conversion applications. On top, the company announces its European and global business activities, strategies, and SiC investment plans.
These include its 4th generation of SiC MOSFETs, which achieves up to 50 percent lower switching loss and 40 percent reduction of ON resistance without sacrificing short-circuit ruggedness. On top, the latest generation are said to offer a more flexible gate voltage range (15 -18V) and supports turn-off with zero volt – enabling simple gate drive circuits with unipolar supply to be used.
“The demand for SiC will continue to grow, and Rohm will also increase sales. We will accelerate further investment and product development based on the technology we have cultivated as a leading SiC manufacturer. In addition, our company will continue to propose solutions that combine not only SiC products but also peripheral components and customer support," states Kazuhide Ino, managing executive officer, CSO of Rohm.
Recently, Rohm increased its production capacity for SiC power semiconductors with the completion of a new building at its Apollo plant in Chikugo, Japan. “As a vertically integrated semiconductor manufacturer we are largely independent of suppliers and can respond more flexibly to market changes. The high degree of integration of our fabs gives us an advantage over other manufacturers who outsource many production steps. In addition, we are making great efforts to further optimise our supply chains, including our production system, and to achieve stable supplies for our customers,” says Wolfram Harnack, president of Rohm Semiconductor Europe.
As the demand for SiC semiconductor wafers will continue to grow in the future, Rohm plans to expand its investments and production capacities. In addition, Rohm’s production subsidiary SiCrystal, located in Nuremberg, Germany, plans to strongly grow its capacities and manpower. “SiCrystal’s intermediate goal is to achieve nine-figure sales by producing several 100,000 substrates a year,” says Robert Eckstein, CEO of SiCrystal.
