Samsung purchases Aisiqiang MOCVD equipment for the production of gallium nitride and silicon carbide
According to a report by The Electronic Times, Samsung Electronics and its domestic wafer foundries, DB Hitek (Eastern High Tech) and Key Foundry (Qifang Semiconductor), will purchase metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) equipment from Aixtron in Germany to enter the GaN (gallium nitride) and SiC (silicon carbide) chip manufacturing service market.
ZDNet Korea recently quoted industry sources as saying that Felix Grawert, CEO of Aisiqiang, visited South Korea in mid July this year in a low-key manner and held a meeting with three major OEM factories to discuss equipment supply agreements. All three plan to enter the GaN and SiC OEM markets.
Among them, sources have revealed that Samsung has decided to purchase Aixtron's latest MOCVD equipment for processing GaN and SiC wafers, with an expected investment scale of at least 700-800 billion Korean won (540-62 billion US dollars).
MOCVD equipment is one of the core equipment for producing GaN chips. At present, only a few companies have the technical capability to produce such equipment, among which Aisiqiang is the largest supplier, occupying 75% of the global market share, followed by Veeco in the United States, with a share of 10% -15%.
Compared with traditional silicon semiconductors, GaN has higher resistance to high temperature and voltage, as well as higher energy efficiency. It is expected that the demand for GaN in the fields of IT, communication, and automotive applications will grow rapidly in the future.
Industry insiders say that Samsung, DB Hitek, and Key Foundry expect to commercialize 8-inch GaN OEM services from 2025 to 2026. They are currently in the stage of research and sample production, requiring only a small amount of equipment. However, they must make significant equipment investments based on future mass production plans.
Industry insiders point out that in early 2023, Samsung invested approximately 100-200 billion Korean won to purchase 8-inch GaN and SiC manufacturing equipment, but the total investment in GaN production alone is expected to reach 1 trillion Korean won.
At present, GaN and SiC foundries heavily rely on the support of Aisiqiang equipment. Although the unit price of MOCVD machines is as high as 20 billion Korean won, Korean semiconductor foundries are still actively investing in this field.
ZDNet Korea recently quoted industry sources as saying that Felix Grawert, CEO of Aisiqiang, visited South Korea in mid July this year in a low-key manner and held a meeting with three major OEM factories to discuss equipment supply agreements. All three plan to enter the GaN and SiC OEM markets.
Among them, sources have revealed that Samsung has decided to purchase Aixtron's latest MOCVD equipment for processing GaN and SiC wafers, with an expected investment scale of at least 700-800 billion Korean won (540-62 billion US dollars).
MOCVD equipment is one of the core equipment for producing GaN chips. At present, only a few companies have the technical capability to produce such equipment, among which Aisiqiang is the largest supplier, occupying 75% of the global market share, followed by Veeco in the United States, with a share of 10% -15%.
Compared with traditional silicon semiconductors, GaN has higher resistance to high temperature and voltage, as well as higher energy efficiency. It is expected that the demand for GaN in the fields of IT, communication, and automotive applications will grow rapidly in the future.
Industry insiders say that Samsung, DB Hitek, and Key Foundry expect to commercialize 8-inch GaN OEM services from 2025 to 2026. They are currently in the stage of research and sample production, requiring only a small amount of equipment. However, they must make significant equipment investments based on future mass production plans.
Industry insiders point out that in early 2023, Samsung invested approximately 100-200 billion Korean won to purchase 8-inch GaN and SiC manufacturing equipment, but the total investment in GaN production alone is expected to reach 1 trillion Korean won.
At present, GaN and SiC foundries heavily rely on the support of Aisiqiang equipment. Although the unit price of MOCVD machines is as high as 20 billion Korean won, Korean semiconductor foundries are still actively investing in this field.