Mitsubishi and Coherent sign SiC agreement
Companies to scale manufacturing of SiC power electronics on a 200 mm technology platform
Materials and laser company Coherent Corp and Mitsubishi Electric have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on a program to scale manufacturing of SiC power electronics on a 200 mm technology platform.
To meet the rapidly growing demand for SiC chips, in particular for electric vehicles, Mitsubishi Electric announced an investment of approximately $1.8B (260 billion yen) in the five-year period ending March 2026. A major portion of the investment, approximately $711M (100 billion yen), will be used to construct a new plant for SiC power devices, based on a 200 mm technology platform, and enhance related production facilities. Under the MOU, Coherent will develop a supply of 200 mm n-type 4H SiC substrates for Mitsubishi Electric’s future SiC power devices manufactured at the new facility.
“We are excited to build on our relationship with Mitsubishi Electric, a pioneer in SiC power devices and a global market leader in SiC power modules for high-speed trains, including the famous Shinkansen in Japan,” said Sohail Khan, executive VP of New Ventures & Wide-Bandgap Electronics Technologies at Coherent. “We have a long track record of supplying SiC substrates to Mitsubishi Electric and are looking forward to expanding our relationship with them to scale their new 200 mm SiC platform.”
“Coherent has been for many years a reliable supplier of high-quality 150 mm SiC wafer substrates to Mitsubishi Electric,” said Masayoshi Takemi, executive officer, group oresident, Semiconductor & Device at Mitsubishi Electric. “We are delighted to enter into this close partnership with Coherent to scale our respective SiC manufacturing platforms to 200 mm.”
Coherent demonstrated the world’s first 200 mm conductive substrates in 2015. In 2019, Coherent began to supply 200 mm SiC substrates under REACTION, a Horizon 2020 four-year program funded by the European Commission.
Mitsubishi Electric made history by launching the world’s first SiC power modules for air conditioners in 2010, and became the first supplier of a full SiC power module for Shinkansen high-speed trains in 2015.
