【World Express】FLOSFIA's Comprehensive News

FLOSFIA Received NEDO Support Fund

      FLOSFIA has been selected as the DMP stage (mass production verification) of the "Deep Tech Startup Support Fund/Deep Tech Startup Support Program" of the Japan New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). Now, we are informing you of this news.

      We will continue to promote "the development of a new generation of power semiconductors (development of Gallium Oxide power semiconductors)" and contribute to the realization of a decarbonized society. (This is the FLOSFIA website news)

"The Beginning of the era of Gallium Oxide" - In conversation with FLOSFIA President

      FLOSFIA is a start-up founded by Kyoto University in 2011 to develop power devices for Gallium Oxide (α-Ga₂O₃). The company successfully marketed "GaO-SBD" as a brand for Gallium Oxide SBD (Schottky Barrier Diode) in 2015 and began offering samples. Since then, despite difficulties in mass production, there are finally signs of official mass production in 2024. We caught up with FLOSFIA's president, Mr Toshimi Hitora, to hear his vision for the company's current ambitions.

FLOSFIA President, Mr. Toshimi Hitora

Goal "Semiconductor ecology" with Gallium Oxide

Please give an overview of FLOSFIA's business.

Mr. Hitora: FLOSFIA is a start-up company that originated from Kyoto University, we research "corundum structure Gallium Oxide (α-Ga₂O₃)" and manufacture/sell power devices of this material. Founded in 2011, Flosfia's most recent business revenue was about 300 million yen. We also use the original "MISTDRY Technology（Mist Drying Method）" to undertake film forming and other businesses.

FLOSFIA proposed the concept of "semiconductor ecology". How do you understand it?

Mr. Hitora: "Semiconductor Ecology" is a project dedicated to achieving global ecological goals through advanced and sophisticated semiconductor technologies. Specifically, we aim to reduce the loss of energy, processes and materials.

Reducing energy losses means reducing losses when converting electricity through the use of Gallium Oxide power devices. The electricity lost due to power conversion accounts for more than 10% of the total electricity produced. The Ga₂O₃ developed by FLOSFIA has a "band gap performance index" of the potential of low-loss materials with material properties that are approximately 6,000 times higher than Silicon (Si), thus reducing energy loss. From the point of view of reducing process loss, the production of SiC (Silicon Carbide) requires a high temperature environment of 1500 ~ 2000 ° C, while α-Ga₂O₃ can be manufactured in an environment below 500 ° C. In addition, Gallium is often discarded as a by-product in the extraction of Aluminum from bauxite, but the use of this Gallium can further reduce the loss of material.

It is highly anticipated as an alternative to silicon, which "overcomes" the weakness

What are the characteristics of Gallium Oxide?

Mr. Hitora: Gallium Oxide has characteristics such as greater bandgap energy than SiC and GaN, so it has received wide attention as a material for realizing the next generation of power devices with low power consumption, high withstand voltage and miniaturization. Because Gallium Oxide is a material different from Silicon, it is expected that it can be produced and supplied stably when Silicon power semiconductors are in short supply.

Gallium Oxide is the α-Ga₂O₃ we are working on, in addition to a β-Ga₂O₃ with a different crystal structure. However, for the power device of β-Ga₂O₃, we need to start with the development of the whole wafer of β-Ga₂O₃. In order to develop a high-quality, low-price power device that can be launched on the market, the quality of the wafer must first be improved and its cost reduced. Considering that even for SiC power devices that already have a certain scale in the market, 40 to 60 percent of the device cost is wafer (whole wafer), it is not easy to reduce the price of wafers in the future.

Conversely, α-Ga₂O₃ power devices can be manufactured on already-fruitful techniques and produced by thin film deposition on a sapphire substrate. Because existing wafers can be utilized, the risk and cost of chip development can be reduced. In addition, the price of sapphire substrate is less than one-tenth that of SiC wafer, so low cost and mass production can be achieved. And in terms of material properties, it is also considered to be superior to β-Ga₂O₃.

Does α-Ga₂O₃ have any problems or challenges?

Mr. Hitora: In the traditional method, there are technical problems in deposting thin film on sapphire substrate, but FLOSFIA has realized the deposition of α-Ga₂O₃ on sapphire substrate by developing a unique "MISTDRY Technology ". The MISTDRY method is a technology that uses fog and heating parts made of raw material solution to produce oxide film through chemical reaction. This technology is based on the "MIST CVD method "developed by Professor Shizuo Fujita and other research teams at Kyoto University, and FLOSFIA has further developed it into a deposition technology with" high orientation ", "high purity" and "mass production". Therefore, we have well overcome the weakness of α-Ga₂O₃.

We have moved to using "GaO-SBD" as the product brand for α-Ga₂O₃ SBD and have started to provide samples. Mass production is planned to begin in 2024 and full production is expected to begin in 2025 at our own plant, with an estimated production of 1 million to 2 million units per month. In the future, we plan to increase our production capacity by 10 times by utilizing our wafer factory. These products are expected to be used in civil and industrial equipment.

left GaO SBD sample /right = Circuit board for evaluation

In the next generation of power semiconductors, Gallium Oxide is the "seed material"

How do you view the power semiconductor market from FLOSFIA's perspective, and what role will α-Ga₂O₃ play in it?

Mr. Hitora: The power semiconductor market is growing rapidly as the adoption rate of electric vehicles (EVs) increases. Over the past two years, the adoption of SiC power semiconductors has also increased and the market is starting to form steadily. At the same time, the price decline of SiC and GaN power semiconductors has reached a bottleneck, coupled with the problem of a stable supply of power semiconductor materials. Based on these background, people's attention on the next generation of non-SiC and GaN power semiconductor materials is also increasing.

The next generation of power semiconductor materials, such as diamond and Aluminum Nitride, are also being studied. But among them, α-Ga₂O₃ is considered to have a high rate of return due to its superior material properties. Gallium Oxide is considered a "seed material" and we receive great expectations from our customers. SiC and GaN are tasked with creating the next generation power semiconductor market, and it may be the job of Gallium Oxide to expand that market.

Please share your goals and confidence about the future

Mr. Hitora: Starting from 2024, we will begin mass production of GaO SBD, and gradually increase its current and withstand voltage changes. At the same time, we will also advance the research and development of MOSFETs using α-Ga₂O₃, as well as the development of packaging technologies that fully leverage the benefits of Gallium Oxide.

Over the past few years, we have put a lot of hard work and effort into the mass production of GaO SBD. Looking back, we have encountered various difficulties, but we have been making continuous improvements and finally reached the mass production stage. Now the era of Gallium Oxide is beginning. Given its long and hard time in the past, "Is Gallium Oxide really reliable?" There may be such doubts. But a lot of effort and development has been put in over several years of hard work, and much has been achieved. I really want you to have confidence in our Gallium Oxide power semiconductors.