German multinational engineering and tech company Bosch has begun the volume production of silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductors at its plant in Reutlingen in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg.
Wafer production. Credit: Bosch
Credit: Bosch
Power semiconductors made of silicon carbide are small, powerful, and extremely efficient and more and more automotive manufacturers across the world are relying on these chips for production.
SiC has the potential for use in a wide range of applications in the automotive sector, in particular for electric vehicle batteries. Compared with silicon chips, SiC can reduce charging time, extend driving range and offer more efficiency by providing the same range with a lower battery capacity.
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"The future for silicon carbide semiconductors is bright. We want to become a global leader in the production of SiC chips for electromobility," said Harald Kroeger, member of the board of management of Bosch.
Bosch first announced that it would be moving ahead with SiC chip development and production two years ago. Since then, the company says it has developed "its own highly complex manufacturing processes", with which it has been producing the semiconductors since early this year - initially as samples for customers, with volume production beginning a few days ago.
"Our order books are full, thanks to the boom in electromobility," added Kroeger.
The company outlined its future plans in a press release, which said that it aims to "expand its production capacity for SiC power semiconductors to a unit volume running into the hundreds of millions". It added that a 3,000 square metre expansion of its clean-room space at the Reutlingen plant was already underway, which should be completed by 2023.
Bosch has also begun working on the second generation of SiC chips, which it says will be more efficient and should be ready for volume production sometime in 2022.
The company plans to manufacture the semiconductors on 200-millimetre wafers. Bosch said that compared with today's 150-millimetre wafers, this "will deliver sizeable economies of scale".
At present, it takes several months for a single wafer to pass through several hundred process steps in countless machines.
"By producing on larger wafers, we can manufacture significantly more chips in one production run and thus supply more customers," said Kroeger.
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The research and development of SiC chips at Bosch is receiving support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as part of the EU's “Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) Microelectronics” programme.
"For several years now, we have been providing support to help establish semiconductor production in Germany. Bosch’s highly innovative semiconductor production strengthens the microelectronics ecosystem in Europe and is a further step toward greater independence in this key field of digitalisation," said Peter Altmaier, Germany’s outgoing Minister for Economic Affairs.
Around the world, demand for SiC semiconductors is rising. A forecast by the market research and consulting company Yole estimates that, between now and 2025, the SiC market as a whole will grow on average by 30% a year to over $2.5 billion (€2.2 billion). At around $1.5 billion (€1.33 billion), the SiC auto market is expected to account for the lion’s share.
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