Clas-SiC plans European power fab
Clas-SiC Wafer Fab in the UK has signed a deal to set up a power fab in mainland Europe.
The company runs a fab making silicon carbide (SiC) devices in Scotland and has deals with a Chinese chip maker. The fab in Europe follows a Licensing, Royalty and Consulting agreement that will see the first wide bandgap plant in the country and follows a £10m investment from Archean (ACIL) of India in late 2024.
“ACIL was the first Indian company to invest in a silicon carbide MOSFET production facility. In line with its broader semiconductor ambitions, ACIL has also signed agreements through its subsidiary, SiCSem Private Limited, which focuses on the compound semiconductor space, specifically silicon carbide,” said the company. “The Indian company plans to build a silicon carbide manufacturing facility in Odisha within the next 24-36 months, positioning itself to cater to domestic and international markets”.
Clas-SiC signed an LR&C agreement with a major power semiconductor Integrated Device Manufacturer (IDM) in China in 2022 which will cut years off the company’s alternative timeline to self-develop SiC design and manufacturing.
The fab in Scotland runs low to medium volumes of 150mm wafers at the fab in Lochgelly, Fife, with R&D and prototyping services.
Silicon carbide is a key technology for Europe, used in electric vehicle powertrains and solar farm and wind turbine inverters. STMicroelectronics is building an end to end line in Catania, Sicily, to build power devices from the materials through to the devices. Onsemi also has a plant in the Czech Republic producing SiC wafers, while Infineon Technologies makes SIC devices in its fab in Kulim, Malaysia, and Villach, Austria.
Clas-SiC is majority owned by executive chair Carl Johnson, who founded II-VI (now Coherent) in 1971 to develop and manufacture compound semiconductor materials.
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
