Source: Global Semiconductor Watch Original author: Bamboo

Recently, the market news shows that the power semiconductor market gradually opened a new round of upswing cycle, Xinjie energy, Yangjie Technology, Taiji shares and many other power semiconductor companies have risen, including China Resources Micro, Yangjie Technology, Huahong Semiconductor and other enterprises, capacity utilization rate is close to full, some high-performance power devices have taken the lead in opening the tide of price increases.

In this market boom, the power semiconductor market will also usher in a new round of volume cycle, recently Shilan Micro investment 12 billion yuan of 8-inch SiC power device chip manufacturing production line officially started, in addition, including core integration, Jiejie micro, core Yue can many enterprises power semiconductor projects also in the first half of the latest developments.

The capacity utilization rate of many enterprises is close to full capacity
From the market demand side, the consumer electronics industry began to recover slowly from the end of last year to the first quarter of this year. And the demand for high-end automotive electronics, AI-driven high-performance computing and high-speed communication has brought new growth drivers to the power semiconductor industry. Notable among them is the field of industrial control. A number of listed power semiconductor companies said that the demand in the field of industrial control is relatively stable, and it has played a great role in polishing the performance in the downward cycle.

From the recent capacity utilization rate of many enterprises in two quarters, the overall improvement of the industry is more obvious. China Resources Micro in the recent survey of relevant institutions said that the company's 6-inch and 8-inch production line capacity utilization rate reached more than 90%, of which some product lines have been more than 95%; The 12-inch production line is in the ramp and customer verification phase.

Yang Jie technology said that it has been in a full production and sales state; Product prices basically stabilized in the second quarter, and the company has sufficient orders on hand. Macro is bullish on second-half demand, saying recently that it expects orders in the third quarter to be more saturated than in the first half.

In terms of Huahong semiconductor, according to Huahong's first-quarter results conference, as of the end of the first quarter, Huahong's 8-inch monthly production capacity reached 391,000 pieces, and the total capacity utilization rate was 91.7%, an increase of 7.6 percentage points from the previous quarter. In addition, Huahong's 12-inch capacity utilization remained strong, driven by demand for CIS, BCD and embedded non-volatile memory, as well as some power devices. In addition, Huahong semiconductor is expected to be better in the second quarter, from the second quarter guidance, Huahong expects sales revenue of about $470 million to $500 million, the median actual performance rose 5.4% in the first quarter, the gross margin is expected to be about 6% to 10%, the median actual gross margin increased 1.6% in the first quarter.

In a recent interview with industry media, Core Integration said that the recovery of power semiconductors is earlier than expected, and the company's production line has been basically at full load. In a recent survey, Core Integration said that AI has created a demand for high-performance power management chips for large Gpus. The company's first generation of BCD has begun small-scale mass production, and the second generation of 55nm solutions have secured significant points from key customers. The company is making every effort to expand customer base and accelerate product introduction, and BCD products will become one of the company's growth points.

From the point of view of the price of power devices, since January this year, various power semiconductor companies have adjusted their prices successively: Sanlian Sheng's full range of products increased by 10-20%, Blue color electronics full range of products increased by 10-18%, Gog Chip micro full range of products increased by 10-20%, and Jiejie Micro TrenchMOS increased by 5-10%. In the last two months, according to the news at the end of the industry chain, for some medium and low voltage products, China Resources Micro, Yang Jie Technology and other power manufacturers have also raised prices and negotiated prices. China Resources Micro believes that product prices have basically bottomed out and are expected to be gradually repaired within the year. Yangjie Technology said that the price of semiconductor products is affected by a variety of factors such as upstream costs, technical process level, industry cyclical and downstream demand, and the price of finished products will also be adjusted accordingly with the fluctuation of raw material prices in the near future.

Started/put into production, a number of projects ushered in new progress
Power semiconductor will also usher in a new round of volume cycle, recently Shilanwei invested 12 billion yuan of 8-inch SiC power device chip manufacturing production line officially started, in addition, there are a number of enterprise power semiconductor projects in the first half of the latest developments.

Invest $12 billion! Slanwei 8-inch SiC power device chip manufacturing line started

According to Xiamen Power Grid news, on June 18, Shilan Jihong 8-inch SiC power device chip manufacturing production line started in Haicang District. It is reported that the total investment of the project is 12 billion yuan, divided into two phases of construction, after the completion of the two phases will form an annual production capacity of 720,000 pieces of 8-inch SiC power device chips. Among them, the total investment of the first phase of the project is 7 billion yuan, which is expected to achieve the initial line by the end of the third quarter of 2025, and the pilot production in the fourth quarter of 2025 and achieve the output of 20,000 pieces; From 2026 to 2028, the production capacity will continue to climb, and eventually will form an annual production capacity of 420,000 8-inch SiC power device chips.

According to public information, the 8-inch manufacturing production project of Shi-Lan Jihong is the third important project of Shi-Lan Microelectronics landing in Xiamen Haicang after two important projects of Shi-LAN Jike's "12-inch characteristic process chip production line" and Shi-Lan's gallium "Advanced compound semiconductor device production line". After the production line is put into operation, it will become the first domestic 8-inch silicon carbide power device chip production line with fully independent intellectual property rights and the largest production capacity. It will better meet the demand for silicon carbide chips required by domestic new energy vehicles, and have the ability to provide high-performance silicon carbide chips to photovoltaic, energy storage, charging piles and other power inverter products, while promoting the coordinated development of domestic 8-inch silicon carbide substrate and related process equipment.

China's first 8-inch SiC MOSFET production line is expected to complete line verification this year

In terms of SiC, SinIC has been investing in R&D and capacity construction of SiC MOSFET chip and module packaging technology since 2021.

At present, the performance of the latest generation of SiC MOSFET products has reached the world's leading level, and the SiC MOSFET devices and modules for vehicle main drive inverters are also mass-produced in 2023. As of December 2023, the integrated 6-inch SiC MOSFET production line has achieved a monthly output of more than 5,000 pieces.

In April this year, Core integrated said at the performance presentation that Core integrated's first domestic 8-inch SiC MOSFET production line has begun to cast, and will complete line verification this year and enter mass production next year. At the same time, the company's grooved silicon carbide MOSFET research and development has entered the verification stage, and these developments will promote the cost optimization of silicon carbide devices to a certain extent.

The Jetjet Microelectric 8-inch power semiconductor project accelerates

On May 16, Jiejie Micro Electronics 8-inch power semiconductor device chip project signed a contract to settle in Suxitong Science and Technology Industrial Park. It is reported that the Jiejie micro electric power semiconductor "car gauge level" sealing industrialization construction project has also been capped in April, and glass curtain wall construction is being carried out.

It is reported that the Jiejie micro electric power semiconductor "car gauge level" closed test project started in early 2023, and the construction period is about 2 years. The total investment of the project is 133,395,950 yuan, the total construction area is 162,000 square meters, and the proposed capital is 1195 million yuan. It is mainly engaged in the research and development, production and sales of high-power devices at vehicle gauge level. After the construction is completed, the annual production capacity of the DFN series of 1900kk gauge high-power devices, the TOLL series of 120kk gauge high-power devices, the LFPACK series of 90kk gauge high-power devices and the 60kkWCSP power devices can be reached.

Core Yue Neng SiC chip manufacturing project accelerated phase I production capacity climb

Public information shows that the core Yueneng silicon carbide (SiC) chip manufacturing project is a major project of Guangdong's "strong core project", with a total investment of 7.5 billion yuan, covering an area of 150 acres, the first phase of investment of 3.5 billion yuan, to build an annual output of 240,000 6-inch SiC chip production line, and the second phase of the construction of an annual output of 240,000 8-inch SiC chip production line. Products include IGBT, SiC SBD/JBS, SiC MOSFET and other power devices, mainly used in new energy vehicles, photovoltaic, smart grid and other fields.

In June 2023, Core Yue Neng said that its vehicle gauge grade SiC chip production line has entered the mass production stage, including a series of vehicle gauge grade and industrial control grade SiC chip products such as 1200V 16 milliohm /35 milliohm, with good test data in all aspects, and has been delivered to a number of OMs and customers for sample verification. Core Yue Neng said that it has signed more than 10 COT customers, and will soon complete the mass production of 4 customer specifications. Recently, according to Shao Yonghua, director of the core Yue energy wafer factory, the entire plant is currently expanding production and is expected to achieve an annual output of 240,000 6-inch car-gauge SiC chips by the end of this year. The reserved 8-inch production line is next door to the 6-inch production line and will have an annual capacity of 240,000 8-inch vehicle gauge SiC chips.