According to the latest news from Qichacha, Hubei Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership) has invested in Shanghai Zhanxin, a SiC product start-up company.

According to the official website, Shanghai Zhanxin Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zhanxin Electronics”) is a high-tech chip company focusing on the field of silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductors. It was established in Lingang New Area of ​​Shanghai Free Trade Zone in 2017.

Zhanxin Electronics has assembled an experienced and high-quality core team at home and abroad, and has started product research and development of 6-inch SiC MOSFETs since its establishment. After three years of in-depth research and development and hard work, it has become the first company in China to master the 6-inch SiC MOSFET and SBD process, as well as the SiC MOSFET driver chip.

Zhanxin Electronics completed wafer manufacturing, chip packaging, module packaging, performance testing and reliability testing with partners in the domestic first-tier semiconductor industry in a virtual IDM mode, providing a complete set of SiC power devices and driver chip solutions for China’s new energy industry. At the same time, it will create a key link in my country’s independent silicon carbide power electronics industry chain.

The data also shows that Zhanxin Electronics provides power conversion solutions centered on SiC power devices, SiC driver chips, and SiC Modules, which are suitable for: wind energy inverters, photovoltaic inverters, industrial power supplies, new energy vehicles, motor drives, and charging piles and other fields.

In March 2020, Shanghai Zhanxin signed a contract with Zhejiang Yiwu to build its silicon carbide power chip production base in the latter. According to reports, the total investment of the project is 500 million yuan, and the construction period is about 2 years. After the project is fully put into production, the annual sales revenue is expected to reach 1.68 billion yuan.

The report also pointed out that the silicon carbide power chip and characteristic process manufacturing project of Zhejiang Zhanxin electronic Technology Co., Ltd. plans to invest in the construction of a silicon carbide power device production and research and development center. The first phase covers an area of ​​50 acres, including a 6-inch silicon carbide power device production line and process research and development. The platform is expected to enter the site for installation and commissioning in 2021, and be put into production in 2022, forming an annual production capacity of 300,000 6-inch wafers.

The demand is certain and huge, and the CARG of SiC will be nearly 50% in the next few years

According to Yicai Investment and Research, GaN and SiC are the two main materials of the third-generation semiconductors. The market application of GaN is biased towards the field of microwave devices, high-frequency small power fields (less than 1000V) and laser fields. Since GaN devices can provide higher power and bandwidth, and GaN chips make leaps in power density and packaging every year, they are better suited for massive MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) technology, GaN HEMT (High Electron Mobility) Field effect transistor) has become an important technology for 5G macro base station power amplifiers.

Compared with GaN, SiC material has three times the thermal conductivity and can reach a higher breakdown voltage than GaN, so it has more advantages in high temperature and high voltage applications, and is suitable for high temperature and large power fields of 600V or even 1200V or more, such as new Energy vehicles, automotive fast charging piles, photovoltaics and power grids.

Sinolink Securities believes that SiC and GaN are currently in different stages of development. For the SiC industry, the overall market size is currently small. The global market size in 2020 will be about 600 million US dollars, but the downstream demand is certain and huge. According to IHS Markit data, driven by the huge demand for new energy vehicles and power equipment and other fields, it is expected that the market size of silicon carbide power devices will exceed US$10 billion by 2027, with a compound growth rate of nearly 50% in 2020-2027. High cost and performance reliability are the main constraints currently restricting the development of the industry. Sinolink Securities believes that once the SiC industry reaches the “singularity moment” when the cost of comprehensive devices approaches silicon-based power devices, the industry will usher in explosive growth.

The opportunities for overtaking in corners have greatly increased, and the layout of SiC devices of domestic enterprises continues to accelerate

The third-generation semiconductors are of great significance to my country, not only because of their excellent performance, but also to bring all-round drive to the industry, which is expected to lead China’s semiconductors into a golden age.

At present, in all aspects of the SiC industry chain, there is still a certain gap between the domestic leading level and the international leading level, but the gap between the technology level and development status is much smaller than that of silicon semiconductors, which is an excellent breakthrough for Chinese mainland semiconductors (especially power and RF devices) to catch up. , and CREE’s rise to become a global giant also fully proves that in this emerging track, as a latecomer, there is still a chance to overtake in corners.

At present, domestic companies are already stepping up the deployment of SiC device manufacturing. According to incomplete statistics from CASA, three 6-inch SiC wafer production lines will be put into production in China in 2020. By the end of 2020, there are at least eight 6-inch SiC wafer manufacturing lines in China ( Including the pilot line), and about 10 SiC production lines are under construction.