GuShiio.com ① The wafer fab of ANIFA Semiconductor is only the first phase of the project. The final production date of the two phases of the project is expected to be 2028. In addition, it will take some time before formal mass production after the wire connection is completed;
② San ‘an Optoelectronics said that models equipped with SiC have dropped to markets below 200,000 yuan. In addition, the growth in demand for SiC materials for optical applications such as AI servers and AR glasses is also worthy of attention.
“Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” March 1 (Reporter Guo Hui) Anifa Semiconductor’s Silicon Carbide wafer factory recently announced the official launch of the line. During the year, China will add another mass production line to the domestic 8-inch silicon carbide manufacturing field.
Lin Kechuang, general manager of San ‘an Optoelectronics and chairman of Anyifa, said at the launch ceremony on February 27 that the project was officially launched in only 16 months. Jean-Marc Chery, President and CEO of ST, said that he hopes to integrate ST’s silicon carbide solution into China’s new energy vehicle industry ecosystem and enhance its technical expertise by prioritizing localized production.
In addition to San ‘an Optoelectronics, domestic manufacturers such as Core Union Integration and Slanwei have started the construction of 8-inch silicon carbide production lines, and are expected to mass production within this year. Focusing on the further cost reduction and batch application of silicon carbide, while competition in new industries is intensifying from substrates to silicon carbide wafers, technology is rapidly changing people’s lives from automobiles to AR glasses, AI server power supplies and other applications.
The two factories have invested a total of 30 billion yuan in a joint venture wafer factory to promote local technological innovation
It is understood that ANST Semiconductor was established in August 2023 and was jointly funded by Sanan Optoelectronics and ST Semiconductor (China) Investment Co., Ltd., with both parties holding 51% and 49% respectively. The total planned investment of the project is about 23 billion yuan. An 8-inch silicon carbide wafer production line with an annual output of about 480,000 chips will be built. The main products are vehicle-gauge electronic control chips.
In order to support this project, San ‘an Optoelectronics wholly established Chongqing San’ an Semiconductor Co., Ltd. in July 2023, and plans to invest 7 billion yuan in the same park to build an 8-inch silicon carbide substrate production line with an annual output of 480,000 pieces., and has been put into operation in September 2024.
Picture: An-Yifa SiC wafer factory is constructed and supporting Sanan optoelectronic substrate production line during the same period
A reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily learned thatThe wafer fab of ANST Semiconductor is only the first phase of the project. The final production date of the two phases of the project is expected to be 2028, when about 10,000 vehicle-gauge wafers can be produced every week. In addition, it will take some time before formal mass production after the Anyifa silicon carbide wafer factory is launched.According to reports, the project is expected to achieve mass production in the fourth quarter of 2025.
After being put into production in the second half of this year, the series of products will cover products between 650V and 1200V. In addition to new energy vehicles, applications will also cover the needs of mainstream scenarios such as photovoltaic energy storage and charging piles. In terms of capacity release, both parties hope that the capacity utilization rate of the production line can be accelerated to full.
Lin Zhidong, director and deputy general manager of San ‘an Optoelectronics, said that just as ST stated the concept at the wire opening ceremony,It is hoped that with this project, we can penetrate into the China market and be close to customer needs. ST hopes to cultivate talents through joint ventures, and then use these talents to make technological innovation based on the local market and needs。
“Both parties are jointly shareholders of ANYifa, which is also our common vision.” Lin Zhidong said that San ‘an Optoelectronics will also pay attention to and promote the realization of its vision and make technological innovation through market localization, talent localization, and technology localization.
It is understood that the board of directors of the joint venture Anyifa is composed of two shareholders and has a management team responsible for production and operations.As an OEM in the industrial chain, ANST’s products and market strategies will focus on ST’s customers and their needs. It is understood that the packaging and testing process for silicon carbide wafers rolled off the production line from ANST will be completed by ST’s factory in the mainland of China. This has formed a complete localized 8-inch silicon carbide supply chain in China.
A reporter from “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” noticed that another domestic power chip manufacturer, Xinlian Integration, also announced that the first batch of products of the 8-inch silicon carbide project will be successfully rolled off the production line, and plans to officially mass production in the second half of 2025. The revenue of Xinlian Integrated SiC business in 2024 has exceeded 1 billion yuan. Among them, the 6-inch SiC MOSFET has recently disclosed that it has reached a production capacity of 8,000 chips per month while continuing to expand the mass production scale.
At the same time, Silan Jihong, a Silan Micro 8-inch SiC power device chip manufacturing production line project, will also start construction in June 2024. The total investment of the project is 12 billion yuan. After the completion of two phases of construction, an annual production capacity of 720,000 8-inch SiC power device chips will be formed. Among them, the total investment of the first phase of the project is 7 billion yuan. It is expected to achieve preliminary connection by the end of the third quarter of this year. Trial production will be carried out in the fourth quarter of 2025 and the goal of producing 20,000 pieces will be achieved.
From a global perspective, the first phase of Infineon’s silicon carbide wafer factory in Gulin, Malaysia will officially open in August 2024, with a goal of occupying 30% of the global SiC market share by 2030. ON Semiconductor has also accelerated the production of 8-inch SiC wafers and plans to put them into production in 2025, with a planned annual production capacity of 600,000 wafers.
Lin Zhidong said that healthy competition will help promote the popularization of technology for the industry and will view the current competitive environment with optimism.
From cars to AR glasses, AI servers, silicon carbide cost reductions bring “multi-point flowering” to terminal applications
Focusing on the batch application of silicon carbide materials, the expansion of production capacity from substrates to silicon carbide wafers is in full swing. While competition in new industries is intensifying, consumers as end markets can also truly feel that technology is changing at a rate that exceeds everyone’s expectations. life.
It is understood that SiC main drives with higher power conversion efficiency have become standard for new energy vehicle brands, and models equipped with SiC have been dropped to markets below 200,000 yuan.
According to observations from relevant people from San ‘an Optoelectronics,As the technological maturity and yield of silicon carbide materials have improved, device prices have indeed fallen. Among its customers, car models equipped with silicon carbide materials and devices are gradually exploring the range of 100,000 to 200,000.
San ‘an Optoelectronics said that the company’s silicon carbide main drive products will be first used in ideal cars, and will also promote cooperation with some overseas customers in the future. According to reports, relevant customers are in the verification process.
New energy vehicles are currently the most widely used scene of silicon carbide materials. According to data provided by San ‘an Optoelectronics, it is estimated that the proportion of automotive applications in the global silicon carbide market will reach 71.4% in 2025, and the market size will reach 22.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.6%, of which 92.68% are mainly used in electric drive.
Secondly, the main application of silicon carbide is photovoltaic energy storage, with an expected proportion of 14.4% in 2025, and the market size will reach 4.52 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.6%.
In addition, San ‘an Optoelectronics said that the growth in demand for silicon carbide materials for optical applications such as AI servers and AR glasses is also worthy of attention.
Market data compiled by San ‘an Optoelectronics shows thatIn 2024, global AI servers are expected to ship 1.5 million units, of which the corresponding power supply market size is about 34.9 billion yuan. In 2025, as the penetration rate of AI technology applications increases, the power supply module market is expected to further increase to 37.2 billion yuan. San ‘an Optoelectronics’ silicon carbide device products have currently entered the white list of relevant manufacturers, and new projects are being introduced.
In addition, San ‘an Optoelectronics has worked closely with key customers such as foreign leading AR terminal manufacturers and domestic optical component foundries. It has sent samples to many customers for verification, and its products continue to iterate. It is understood that the refractive index of silicon carbide is about 2.7, which is better than traditional glass and other materials, and has the advantages of high temperature resistance and heat dissipation. It is understood that a 6-inch silicon carbide substrate can make 2 pairs of AR glasses, and an 8-inch substrate corresponds to 3-4 pairs. Calculated from the estimated annual shipments of 1.5 million units in 2024, it is converted into a 6-inch substrate. Corresponding to the demand of 750,000 pieces/year, the market size reaches 1.08 billion yuan.
The market expects that, according to the pace of cost reduction of existing silicon carbide substrate materials, it is estimated that in the next three to five years (2028 – 2030), the cost of 8-inch silicon carbide wafers is expected to be controlled within US$1000.
Lin Zhidong of San ‘an Optoelectronics told the reporter of “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” that he hopes to achieve this goal and achieve universal technological benefits in the future. Based on the experience of LED epitaxial wafers, the time cost has dropped by 90% in 20 years. On the other hand, it is precisely because of the drop in prices that the market popularity of products and customers ‘willingness to accept them have been greatly enhanced.
Lin Zhidong said that local suppliers of silicon carbide diodes in the domestic market already account for a large proportion, roughly estimated to exceed 50%, while silicon carbide MOS accounts for 20% to 30%. However, in terms of vehicle-grade silicon carbide MOS, it accounts for less than 10%. San ‘an Optoelectronics is equivalent to providing customers in the China market with two options: one is local brands, and the other is joint venture brands, which means providing Italian and French brands through joint venture manufacturing to further meet the diverse needs of China customers.
