The world's first 300mm power GaN technology is an industry game-changer

Infineon Technologies AG has succeeded in developing the world's first 300mm power GaN wafer technology. It is claimed to be the first company in the world to master this groundbreaking technology in an existing and scalable high-volume manufacturing environment. The breakthrough will help substantially drive the market for GaN-based power semiconductors. Chip production on 300mm wafers is technologically more advanced and extremely more efficient compared to 200mm wafers since the bigger wafer diameter fits 2.3 times as many chips per wafer.

GaN-based power semiconductors find fast adoption in industrial, automotive, and consumer, computing and communication applications, including power supplies for AI systems, solar inverters, chargers and adapters, and motor-control systems. State-of-the-art GaN manufacturing processes improve device performance, resulting in benefits in the end customers' applications as they enable efficient performance, smaller size, lighter weight, and lower overall cost. Also, 300mm manufacturing provides superior customer supply stability through scalability.

"This remarkable success is the result of our innovative strength and the dedicated work of our global team to demonstrate our position as the innovation leader in GaN and power systems," said Jochen Hanebeck, CEO of Infineon Technologies AG. "The technological breakthrough will be an industry game-changer and enable us to unlock the full potential of gallium nitride. Nearly one year after the acquisition of GaN Systems, we are demonstrating again that we are determined to be a leader in the fast-growing GaN market. As a leader in power systems, Infineon is mastering all three relevant materials: silicon, silicon carbide and gallium nitride."

The company has succeeded in manufacturing 300mm GaN wafers on an integrated pilot line in its power fab, which is already producing 300mm silicon. The company is using well-established competence in the existing production of 300mm silicon and 200 mm GaN. It will further scale GaN capacity aligned with market needs. 300mm GaN manufacturing will put it in a position to shape the growing GaN market.

This pioneering technological success underlines the company's position as a global semiconductor leader in power systems and IoT. It is implementing 300mm GaN to strengthen existing and allowing new solutions and application fields with an increasingly cost-effective value proposition and the ability to address the full range of customer systems. It will present the first 300mm GaN wafers to the public at the electronica trade show in November 2024.

A notable advantage of 300mm GaN technology is that it can use existing 300mm silicon manufacturing equipment since GaN and silicon are very similar in manufacturing processes. Its existing high-volume silicon 300mm production lines are ideal to pilot reliable GaN technology, permitting accelerated implementation and efficient use of capital. Fully scaled 300mm GaN production will contribute to GaN cost parity with silicon on R DS(on) level, which means cost parity for comparable Si and GaN products.

300mm GaN is another milestone in the company's strategic innovation leadership and supports its mission of decarbonisation and digitalisation.