【Expert Interview】Liu Hongchao, Advanced Chief Scientist of YOFC Advanced Semiconductor Corporation: to Deeply Understand the Laws of Industrial Development, So as to Promote the Rapid Rise of China's Compound Semiconductor Industry

  In recent years, the compound semiconductor market is very hot and has attracted much attention. Looking back on the past year, we have gone through the ups and downs and challenges of the compound semiconductor industry, and we also have witnessed the tenacity and prosperity of our compound semiconductor industry.

  What will the development prospect of compound semiconductor industry be in 2023? How do we deal with unknown challenges? These are the concerns of the industry. CS · CHINA interviewed Liu Hongchao, the second director of the China Crystal Society, the director of the Shanghai Semiconductor Lighting Engineering Technology Association, the professor of the Shanghai Second University of Technology, to share his unique views.

Introduction of The Interviewee

  Liu Hongchao, a Doctor of Materials Science, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences,(1997), AvH Research fellow, Germany (2000). He has been engaged in research for more than 10 years in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nagoya University in Japan, Munster University in Germany, and Wakayama University in Japan; He has worked in China Resources Microelectronics, Shanghai Advanced Semiconductor (Jita) and other semiconductor enterprises for more than 20 years; He has published 34 papers in major academic journals and international conferences at home and abroad, and has been granted the state patent, and more than 20 utility model patents and more than 10 integrated circuit copyrights. He is the winner of the Humboldt Scholarship in Germany and the Young Scientist Award of the Asian Crystal Society. He has served as the second director of the China Crystal Society, the director of the Shanghai Semiconductor Lighting Engineering Technology Association, and the part-time professor of the Shanghai Second Industrial University.

Liu Hongchao, the second director of the China Crystal Society, the director of the Shanghai Semiconductor Lighting Engineering Technology Association, and the part-time professor of the Shanghai Second Industrial University

Anhui YOFC Advanced Semiconductor Corporation

  Anhui YOFC Advanced Semiconductor Corporation focuses on the design, process research and manufacturing of third-generation semiconductor products represented by SiC and GaN. The company has the domestic first-class 6-inch wafer production line equipment and advanced supporting system, with the capacity of the whole industry chain from the design, epitaxy, wafer manufacturing to module testing. It takes the industry leading position in the corporate governance structure, shareholder strength, core team, technical strength, customer resources.

Qustions&Answers

CSC: In 2023, would you please forecast the development trend of the compound semiconductor industry?

  As a part of China's compound semiconductor industry, I also see unprecedented challenges and hidden worries in this field. In terms of technology competition, although the third-generation compound semiconductor represented by SiC / GaN has a very obvious advantage over silicon, its cost still needs to be significantly reduced compared with Si devices; At the same time, it also faces the challenges of the new generation of semiconductor materials represented by Ga₂O₃. After more than ten years of rapid development, the cost and performance advantages of Ga₂O₃ begin to show, which is most likely to enter the 6-inch technology era in 2023; From the aspect of geopolitics, compared with those in Europe, America and Japan, there is much room to improve for the third-generation compound semiconductor in China, as to product technology and patent layout, product yield and reliability, and even cost and production capacity. The SiC MOSFET we need for electric vehicles, especially the SiC MOSFET wafer for the main inverter, is implicitly limited, and the security of the supply chain needs to be improved urgently. In terms of industrial chain layout, our existing third-generation semiconductor industrial chain follows the mature situation of silicon-based industrial chain, and is arranged in substrate, device design, wafer foundry and other links, which is recognized by the domestic capital market; but it is challenging for the third-generation semiconductor industry represented by SiC and the new energy market where it currently focuses on. On the other hand, the top companies in Europe, America and Japan organise their layout based on the industrial chain, which is inseparable from their capital and technical strength, but such layout is indeed more conducive to the rapid iteration and development of technology in the new industrial field, as well as the upcoming cost controlling, so that they could grasp the opportunity and keep initiative. In order to rapidly enhance China's position in the field of compound semiconductors, especially to make up for deficiencies and develop advantages in the SiC / GaN so-called third-generation semiconductor, it requires the joint efforts of every colleague in our industrial ecology, including academia, substrate manufacturers, wafer manufacturers, closed testing service providers, equipment manufacturers, users, and even the simultaneous resonance of the capital circle, and deeply understand the law of industrial development, to make the most conducive choice to the development of the Chinese compound semiconductor.

  China's semiconductor development is far from success, and all our colleagues need to work hard. It is expected that China's compound semiconductors will take advantage of the double-carbon policy and the capital, make great breakthrough achievements as soon as possible and stand at the forefront of the world's next-generation semiconductor research and development and industrialization.

CSC:In the coming year what are the predictable breakthroughs or innovations?

  2022 is a passionate year for third-generation semiconductors. From an academic point of view, both Ga₂O₃ high voltage power devices, and GaN as well as AlN based UV devices have made amazing progress. Hydrogen ion injection to inhibit SiC defect extension gives us the hope for the application of a new generation of semiconductors in a wider range and more types of devices. From the perspective of the industry, with the development of the new energy industry and pure electric vehicles, the demand for SiC and GaN power devices is expanding, and the supply is becoming more and more tight. All countries are expanding production capacity as quickly as possible, and such news will be announced every month or even every week. Continuous technological progress and the continuous introduction of new technologies, including laser cutting, wafer and new crystal growth technologies, also make it possible for decreasing continuously the cost of materials and devices, which will inevitably improve the speed of three generation and a half devices to replace traditional Si based devices in the fields of power and radio frequency. The rapid growth of market demand provides opportunities for every employee and every company to continue to grow rapidly.