【World Express】The Semiconductor Market is Booming in Investment! Japan will Vigorously Develop Power Semiconductor！

  Now there is a wave of investment boom in Japan to increase the production of power semiconductors. As an effective use of electricity, power semiconductors, including electric vehicles (EVs), are indispensable elements for decarburization. Although Japanese semiconductor lost its competitiveness in storage and logic (calculus), Japanese manufacturers maintained their advantages in power semiconductor, and further stepped up investment to increase output.

  On June 8th , ROHM held an opening ceremony for the new building of its subsidiary ROHM Apollo, which is located in Chikugo, to produce power semiconductors based on SiC (silicon carbide). ROHM uses 150 mm SiC wafers to produce power semiconductors, and the new building planned to be put into use at the end of this year. It will be the first facility of ROHM coping with a larger diameter of 200 mm. By 2025, it will invest as much as 170 billion yen, making the production capacity six times higher than that in 2009.

  ROHM said that the growth of power semiconductor market demand was two years earlier than expected due to development in decarburization. At present, ROHM's SiC power semiconductor accounts for 14% of the global share, and the Italian French semiconductor company in Swiss ranks first. At the opening ceremony of the new building, President Isao Matsumotu of the ROHM said that it aims to increase its market share to 30% till 2025 and become the first around the world in the future.

  Although silicon (Si) is still the mainstream of power semiconductors, as the next generation material, SiC is attracting worldwide attention. Compared with silicon, it is not easy to damage even if it is under high voltage, meanwhile the substrate is thinner. In addition, with better heat dissipation, it is possible to cool small devices. Although SiC power semiconductors are more expensive than silicon, and the cost of producing high-quality SiC crystals is higher, the market demand is still growing, which sufficiently prove that it is reasonable to increase the investment in production.

  In terms of SiC power semiconductor, Fuji Electric also announced in January this year that it would invest in equipment to increase its output in Fuji Electric Tsugaru Semiconductor. A new production line of 150 mm wafer will be built and mass production will begin in 2024. In the five-year medium-term management plan up to 2023, Fuji Electric planned to invest a total of 120 billion yen in the power semiconductor field largely in silicon. Including this investment, it is expected that the future investment will increase up to 190 billion yen.

Toshiba and RENEASA are also improving

  In Japan, new investment in silicon is going on. At present, the mainstream investment is to increase the wafer diameter from the traditional 200 mm wafer to 300 mm wafer. The larger the diameter, the more power semiconductors can be produced. Toshiba and RENESAS are investing in new 300 mm silicon wafers and accelerating the operation of new production lines to further promote mass production.

  In February this year, Toshiba announced that the factory of KAGA TOSHIBA ELECTRONICS, a subsidiary of the company which produces 200 mm wafer power semiconductors, advanced the start time of the 300 mm wafer production line from the original "first half of 2023" to the second half of 2022 ". In addition, a new building has been built accordingly for 300 mm wafers, aiming to start operation in 2024. It is said that the production capacity of power semiconductor is 2.5 times higher than that in the year of 2021.

  RENESAS also announced in May this year that it will invest 90 billion yen into the factory located in Koufu which had been closed for 14 years. As a power semiconductor production line matched for 300 mm wafers, it will resume operation in 2024. It will produce "insulated gate bipolar transistor" (IGBT) used for vehicle high-speed transfer switch with high voltage withstand (switching on and off of electrical signal). It is rare to restart closed factories, and the local people are also expecting more employment opportunities.

  The increasing demand for power semiconductors is in short supply. DENSO Corporation will also produce power semiconductors in order to ensure more production. It announced in April this year that it will cooperate with United Microelectronics Corporation(UMC), a large-scale manufacturing trustee. In the factory of UMC's Japanese subsidiary, United Semiconductor Japan (USJC), a new power semiconductor production line was set up accordingly for 300 mm silicon wafers .

Development of gallium oxide materials

  Investment in power semiconductors as a new generation of materials is also very active. Now gallium oxide (Ga₂O₃), as a new generation material after SiC, is under continuous development. In terms of technology, two companies are leading the way ----- Novel Crystal Technolgy (NCT), a subsidiary of TAMURA Corporation, and FLOSFIA,founded by Kyoto University . In March this year, NTC announced that gallium oxide was successfully filmed on 150 mm wafers and achieved remarkable results.

  The industry has high expectations. NCT is funded by AGC, Shindengen, TOREX Semiconductor and other companies, and ROHM also contributed in this May. On the other hand, with FLOSFIA funded by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Denso and Daikin Industries, Sanyo Chemical Industry decided to invest in this January, with the goal of mass production within the year.

  In the semiconductor market, the "silicon cycle" declines in a 4-year cycle. It is difficult to see the demand trend clearly. In memory and logic, due to excessive investment, Japanese manufacturers' performance deteriorated, and their businesses withdrew and went bankrupt. However, in Japan, there are many heavy electricity manufacturers that need power semiconductors, such as Toshiba and Hitachi. They still maintain high competitiveness in power semiconductors.

  Today, the demand for semiconductors has shifted from the era of personal computers and smart phones to IoT (Internet of Things), 5G (the 5th generation mobile communication system), EV, and Metaverse (3D virtual space). Against that background, the fluctuation is the major trend of decarbonization. In the face of the energy supply crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in order to effectively use the limited energy, the role of power semiconductors will also be improved.

  "As long as human beings have desires, semiconductors will not disappear." Mr. Manabu Tsujimura of Fello EBARA Corporation, Vice President of Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ), said this all the time. Semiconductor is essential for electronic equipment to meet human being’s needs. Moreover, with the increase of human desire, semiconductors will continue to be updated. If Japan can consolidate its position and lead the development of power semiconductors in the world, the future will be even brighter and broader.