A 300mm silicon wafer.
Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/Bloomberg
UMC, Taiwan’s No. 2 contract chip maker following TSMC, is pairing up with Toyota-backed car-areas provider Denso to make semiconductors in Japan and satisfy expanding world wide desire in the automotive sector.
United Semiconductor Japan Co. (USJC), UMC’s Japanese subsidiary, declared late past month that it is setting up a production plant for electric power chips that management the circulation and way of electric powered current with Denso, which is element-owned by the world’s most significant auto maker by product sales.
“Semiconductors are becoming significantly crucial in the automotive sector as mobility technologies evolve, which includes automated driving and electrification,” Denso president Koji Arima mentioned in the announcement. “Through this collaboration, we add to the steady provide of ability semiconductors and electrification of automobiles.”
“It should be good information,” says Brady Wang, Taipei-based mostly affiliate director with industry investigation business Counterpoint Investigation. UMC is currently positioned to do “third-generation” semiconductors, which includes energy-saving types with the correct thickness for automotive use. Wang expects higher-volume creation for the Japanese auto marketplace. “Both of their positive aspects can be place into engage in,” he says.
An insulated-gate bipolar transistor—also recognised as IGBT, which is made use of for electric car or truck motor controllers—line will be put in at USJC’s wafer fab. It will be the initially in Japan to develop IGBTs on 300mm wafers, in accordance to the announcement. Denso will add its system-oriented IGBT system and system know-how, whilst USJC will offer its 300mm wafer producing capabilities.
Other chip makers, like TSMC, can manufacture with IGBT engineering, but Japanese companies dominate substantially of the market, notes Joanne Chiao, an analyst with Taiwan-dependent analysis agency TrendForce.
The UMC-Denso plant, in Mie Prefecture in central Japan, is scheduled to commence in the to start with 50 percent of next year. A spokesperson for UMC reported the plant will be equipped to create 10,000 wafers a thirty day period by 2025.
“With our strong portfolio of state-of-the-art specialty technologies and [International Automotive Task Force] IATF 16949 certified fabs in diversified destinations, UMC is very well positioned to serve need across automobile apps, which include sophisticated driver assistance devices, infotainment, connectivity, and powertrain,” Jason Wang, UMC co-president, claimed in the announcement. “We glimpse forward to capitalizing on more cooperation possibilities likely ahead with top players in the automotive room.”
Given that automotive production restarted all around the earth in late 2020, following the initially wave of the pandemic, manufacturing facility desire for automotive chips has grown and continues to be powerful mainly because of “pent-up consumer demand” for EVs and hybrids, Moody’s Buyers Company stated in an emailed commentary.
The automotive semiconductor market place is approximated to expand from $35 billion in 2020 to $68 billion in 2026, Taipei-centered Sector Intelligence & Consulting Institute suggests.