The first domestically produced 6-inch silicon carbide wafer product was released in Lingang
Source: Shanghai Lingang Official WeChat
Recently, the first domestically produced 6-inch silicon carbide MOSFET (Metal Oxide Field Effect Transistor) wafer was officially released in Lingang, filling the gap in this field in China, and the future market capacity can reach tens of billions of dollars.
This domestic 6-inch silicon carbide MOSFET wafer is made of silicon carbide, which is the third-generation semiconductor material. It is used in new energy industries such as new energy vehicles and photovoltaic power generation. It is the core process semiconductor chip. At present, the mainstream process semiconductor devices used in this field on the market are silicon-based devices, and using silicon carbide devices, its efficiency and power density will be further improved. Zhang Yongxi, founder and general manager of Shanghai Zhanxin Electronics, introduced: "If a new energy vehicle with silicon carbide MOSFET (metal oxide field effect transistor) is used for electric drive, the cruising range can be increased by 5% to 10%; for example, If the photovoltaic inverter with silicon carbide technology devices is used, the efficiency can also be greatly improved, especially the energy consumption is reduced by 50%.
At present, the cost of the chip is indeed at least 2 to 5 times higher than that of the silicon-based chip. However, the use of silicon carbide devices can bring about a reduction in system cost, including an increase in performance, and the benefits are better in the long run. . "
In July 2017, Shanghai Zhanxin was registered in Lingang. At the beginning of its establishment, they benchmarked the most advanced international technology, and at the same time, they forward-looking development of 6-inch silicon carbide wafers, 1152 days, finally conquered , Every day, Zhang Yongxi remembers clearly.
"In these 1152 days, we invested more than 500 6-inch silicon carbide wafers for research and development, and each wafer carried at least one single experiment, so the whole process was very complicated and challenging, but fortunately It is our team that everyone works hard to develop the product. The core is completely independent. We are adjusting more than 200 processes step by step on a 6-inch production line in our own country. It is completely self-retaining and self-manufacturing in China. Completely self-developed. Entering the international first-line level, we first catch up with others in terms of performance and reliability and the international mainstream manufacturers. In the future, we will gradually iterate to the second and third generations in the next few years, hoping to catch up Large international company."
Because its development is a high value-added product developed at a low cost on a domestic production line, the manufacturing cost will be reduced, and the price can be at least 20% lower than that of international products. At present, this wafer has been tested by more than 10 domestic customers, and two of them have already formed small batch shipments.
Domestic leading companies in related industries such as BYD and Huawei have widely used silicon carbide MOSFETs in their flagship products. Internationally, European super charging piles have also adopted such modules. According to estimates, the global silicon carbide market is expected to be around 600 million US dollars this year. With the vigorous development of the new energy industry, the potential for market growth is very large. Some institutions predict that the global silicon carbide market can reach tens of billions of dollars in 2027, and the domestic market will occupy at least half of the country.