Infineon Acquires GaN Systems for $830M, Bolstering Position in Power Semiconductor Market

Strategic Move Amplifies Infineon's GaN Expertise, Accelerating Energy-Efficient Solutions and Decarbonization Efforts

Infineon Technologies has successfully acquired GaN Systems, a Canadian company, for $830 million. This acquisition positions Infineon as a significant supplier of gallium nitride (GaN) power devices across various sectors, including consumer, industrial, and automotive applications. With the deal, Infineon inherits a wide array of GaN-based power conversion devices, designs, and advanced application expertise. GaN Systems, located in Ottawa, has integrated with Infineon, which already had its CoolGaN range. Jochen Hanebeck, Infineon's CEO, emphasized that GaN technology promotes energy efficiency and contributes to decarbonization efforts. Following this acquisition, Infineon boasts 450 GaN experts and access to over 350 GaN patent families, solidifying its leadership in the power semiconductor domain. The collaboration of both companies' intellectual properties, application insights, and customer projects optimally positions Infineon for future growth. 

Notably, GaN Systems has a unique island-based device structure that enhances power design performance, utilized by companies like QPT for fast switching speeds of up to 20MHz. This acquisition comes after Infineon's 2020 purchase of Cypress Semiconductor.

Source: Infineon completes acquisition of GaN Systems ... (eenewseurope.com)

Aixtron partners in UltimateGaN project to make power semiconductors available for broad applications at competitive cost

[Semicondutor Today] Deposition equipment maker Aixtron SE of Herzogenrath, near Aachen, Germany says that it is a partner in the European research project UltimateGaN (research for GaN technologies, devices and applications to address the challenges of the futureGaN roadmap). In addition to Aixtron, 25 other companies and institutions from nine countries have come together to research the next generation of energy-saving chips based on gallium nitride (GaN) over the next three years. The aim is to make these power semiconductors available for a wide range of applications at globally competitive costs.

The UltimateGaN consortium consists of 26 well-established participants originating from 9 European member states and associated countries constituting a balanced mix of industry and research with complementary skills and expertise. The multidisciplinary partners cover the entire value chain technology – packaging – reliability – application.
UltimateGaN is one of the largest existing European research projects in semiconductor development. The €48m in funding consists of investment by industry, subsidies from the individual participating countries and the Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership (ECSEL) Joint Undertaking (JU).

Efficient use of energy for climate protection

“By developing intelligent technologies, we are making a key contribution to the global challenge of climate change,” says Aixtron president Dr Felix Grawert. “New materials and efficient chip solutions play a key role here. With this research project, we are creating the conditions for making innovative energy-saving chips available for many future-oriented everyday applications,” he adds.

“Gallium nitride semiconductor devices are revolutionizing energy use on many levels,” says professor Michael Heuken, Aixtron’s VP Research & Development. “The research project opens up an enormous global market potential,” he adds. “It enables better performance and efficiency in a wide range of applications and significantly improves user comfort. Efficient operation of servers and data centers, fast and wireless charging of smartphones, data exchange between machines in real time, or lightning-fast video streaming become reality.”

Source: Semiconductor Today LINK

Germany to fund the Semiconductor industry with 400 milion Euro

"Every second chip made in Europe comes from Saxony!"

Happy days in Dresden, Silicon Saxony and Germany today - Yesterday Globalfoundries announced that they are investing in Fab 1 in Dresden to ramp 22 nm FD-SOI and today Angela Merkel and Johanna Wanka comes for a visit to Dresden and promises 400 million Euro support package until 2020 for the semiconductor industry!

"Um Innovationen in der Halbleiterindustrie auch künftig voranzutreiben, erarbeitet das Bundesforschungsministerium bis Ende des Jahres zusammen mit weiteren Ressorts ein neues Rahmenprogramm. Das Programm soll mit einem Volumen von 400 Millionen Euro bis 2020 ausgestattet werden. Das hat Bundesforschungsministerin Wanka bei ihrem Besuch in Dresden angekündigt. " - http://www.bmbf.de/de/28961.php

Chancellor Angela Merkel entering the helicopter in Berlin to fly 200 km south to Dresden. (Twitter, BMBF)

Rutger Wijburg (VP and General Manager Fab1, Dresden) explains factory physics for Sanjay Jha (CEO Globalfoundries) Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ministerpräsident Stanislaw Tillich and Bundesforschungsministerin Johanna Wanka using a model Globalfoundries Fab 1 in Dresden. (Photo: Heiko Weckbrodt)

More details for those of you reading German can be found in the excellent coverage by Heiko Weckbrodt :

Bund sagt 400 Millionen € für Mikroelektronik zu

Kanzlerin Merkel debattiert in Dresden Mikroelektronik-Strategie

MDR Sachsen Video in German:

Overview
http://www.mdr.de/sachsenspiegel/video284012.html

Silicon Saxony
http://www.mdr.de/sachsenspiegel/video284020.html

Globalfoundries
http://www.mdr.de/sachsenspiegel/video283788.html

Later Frau Bundeskanzlerin Dr Merkel also stopped by Fraunhofer to meet with The Fraunhofer President Prof. Dr. Reimund Neugebauer.

Angela Merkel also visited Infineon’s Dresden 300 and 200 mm fabs today and discussed the political framework for a competitive development and production in Germany with CEO Reinhard Ploss. - See more at: http://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/merkel-visits-infineon-dresden-fab-2015-07/#sthash.XHTLv12Y.dpuf

 

Yesterday, flanked by two clean room engineers posing with 300 mm device wafers the Globalfoundries Managers Gregg Bartlett, Sanjay Jha (CEO) und Rutger Wijburg (VP and General Manager Fab1, Dresden) announce that Globalfoundries will invest $250 million for 22nm FD-SOI production in Fab 1 Dresden, Germany. From the press conference in Dresden (photo by Heiko Weckbrodt, www.computer-oiger.de)