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Novel Crystal Technology (NCT), a global leader in Gallium Oxide (Ga2O3) technology, has successfully grown the first 6-inch Ga2O3 single crystal using the advanced Vertical Bridgman (VB) technique. This achievement marks a significant step forward in NCT’s efforts to deliver larger, high-quality semiconductor wafers for Ga2O3-based power devices.
The VB technique offers several advantages over NCT’s existing Edge-defined Film-fed Growth (EFG) method. By growing the crystal in a cylindrical shape, VB significantly reduces costs associated with substrate cutting. Additionally, it allows for production of substrates in various crystalline orientations, unrestricted by limitations imposed by crystal anisotropy.
Furthermore, the controlled thermal environment of VB growth leads to superior crystal quality with minimal defects, compared to EFG. Finally, dopant uniformity within the substrate is expected to improve, aligning with industry standards for other semiconductors like silicon.
NCT carried out a comparative evaluation between VB and EFG crystals with National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) revealed a dramatic improvement in crystal quality. Synchrotron radiation X-ray topography analysis confirmed minimal defects in the VB-grown crystal, compared to the high density of defects observed in the EFG-grown crystal. This clearly demonstrates the superiority of the VB technique for producing high-quality Ga2O3 substrates.
Ga2O3 is a promising material for power electronics due to its ability to significantly reduce power loss compared to commonly used Silicon Carbide (SiC) in high-voltage applications, like electric vehicles and renewable energy systems. Its wide bandgap characteristics hold immense potential for energy conservation and CO2 emission reduction.
Established in 2015, NCT manufactures 2-inch and 100 mm gallium oxide (Ga2O3) substrates and epi-wafers for power devices. These are commercially available and used by universities, institutes, and power device companies worldwide. NCT currently supplies thousands of these substrates annually to support research and development efforts.
NCT is actively developing larger substrates such as 6-inch. Beyond substrates, NCT has a vision for broader Ga2O3 device production. They are already offering samples of their first Ga2O3 Schottky Barrier Diode, with qualification tests expected to be completed in September 2024.
The development of the Vertical Bridgman growth technique for Ga2O3 single crystals was initiated by Shinshu University, successfully achieving growth of 2-inch and 4-inch crystals. NCT acquired and extended their techniques to enable larger diameter crystal development. This research and development program was partially funded by the Adaptable and Seamless Technology Transfer Program through Target Driven R&D (A-STEP) of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).
Original – Novel Crystal Technology
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Infineon Technologies AG and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd. (HD KSOE) have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as a first step towards jointly developing emerging applications for the electrification of marine engines and machinery using energy-efficient power semiconductor technology.
HD KSOE, a marine pioneer and global leader in ship building, is already focusing on creating eco-friendly decarbonized ship technology that uses electricity and hydrogen. The company will now cooperate with Infineon to create innovative power solutions for propulsion drive technology, a core element for ship electrification.
Power semiconductors from Infineon drive the transformation towards clean, safe, and smart mobility services across all means of transportation. For modern maritime applications they are a key factor in guaranteeing a precise control of multiple power modules, such as large-capacity propulsion drives.
Infineon will provide HD KSOE with technical assistance and mentoring in semiconductor power modules and system solutions, as well as share information on new semiconductor trends for marine applications. With the partnership HD KSOE aims to enhance reliability and performance of marine vessels’ propulsion drive technology contributing to environmental sustainability through the electrification of ships.
Worldwide, maritime transport is responsible for almost 2.5 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Maritime Organization. It produces one billion tons of CO 2 each year. The transition to electric ships is imperative to mitigate the environmental impact of maritime transportation.
“We are pleased to sign an MoU with Infineon, which underpins our innovation efforts to become a leader in ship electrification technology,” said Chang Kwang-pil, Chief Technology Officer of HD KSOE. “Together, we will combine our strengths to create energy-efficient power solutions for CO2-friendly propulsion drives.”
“At Infineon we are providing the technologies needed in today’s world of transportation to drive electrification that will shape the future of mobility,” said Dr. Peter Wawer, Division President Green Industrial Power at Infineon Technologies. “We are excited to work closely together with HD KSOE to develop clean, safe and smart mobility solutions. This way, we contribute to a more sustainable marine engine ecosystem and drive the decarbonization of shipping.”
Original – Infineon Technologies
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CVD Equipment Corporation announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
Manny Lakios, President and CEO of CVD Equipment Corporation, commented, “Fourth quarter 2023 revenue was $4.1 million, down significantly versus the prior year period, as our business continues to experience fluctuations in revenue given the nature of the emerging growth end markets we serve. While we are disappointed with both our fourth quarter and full year performance, we’ll stay the course on our strategy to return to consistent profitability, with a focus on growth and return on investment.”
Mr. Lakios added, “Our primary goal is to expand penetration of our equipment solutions into high power electronics, battery material, aerospace and industrial applications. To this end, I am very pleased to announce that we started off 2024 with several key new order wins. First, we successfully penetrated a second PVT equipment customer, with an evaluation order for our newly launched PVT200 system used to grow 200 mm silicon carbide crystals. This represents an important milestone for CVD, with potential follow-on production orders should our equipment effectively meet the customers’ needs. Second, we received a $10 million multisystem order for a SiC CVD coating reactor from an industrial customer, which will be used to deposit a silicon carbide protective coating on OEM components. We are encouraged by these orders, as we continue to make investments in both research and development and sales and marketing, including direct engagement with multiple potential customers, focused on our key markets.”
Fourth Quarter 2023 Financial Performance
- Revenue of $4.1 million, down $3.1 million or 43.2% year over year primarily due to lower system revenues.
- Gross profit margin percentage was a negative 8.5% due to a large contract that experienced significant cost overruns during the quarter.
- Operating loss of $2.5 million.
- Net loss of $2.3 million or $0.33 basic and diluted share, compared to a net income of $1.5 million or $0.23 per basic and diluted share during the prior year fourth quarter. Net income in 2022 included $1.5 million of other income related to the recognition of Employee Retention Credits related to fiscal 2021.
- Cash and cash equivalents of $14.0 million as of December 31, 2023.
Full Year 2023 Financial Performance
- Revenue of $24.1 million, down $1.7 million or 6.6% year over year primarily due to the disposition of Tantaline and the wind down of MesoScribe’s operations.
- Our gross profit margin percentage was 21.0% in 2023 as compared to 25.7% in the prior year due to a large contract in 2023 that experienced significant cost overruns and other higher margin system contracts in 2022.
- Operating loss of $4.9 million.
- Net loss of $4.2 million or $0.62 basic and diluted share, compared to a net loss of $0.2 million or $0.03 per basic and diluted share in the prior year. Net loss in 2022 included $1.5 million of other income related to the recognition of Employee Retention Credits.
Fourth Quarter 2023 Operational Performance
- Orders for the fourth quarter were $5.8 million driven by continued demand in the aerospace sector and in our SDC segment for gas delivery equipment.
- Received a $2.1 million system order in the aerospace sector that will be delivered over the next 12 months.
- Received a $1.0 million order in our SDC segment for gas delivery equipment.
- During the fourth quarter, we developed a plan to reduce our operating costs to be consistent with current customer demand. This resulted in a reduction in our work force in early January 2024. We continue to evaluate opportunities to reduce our operating costs.
Full Year 2023 Operational Performance
- Booking of new orders from customers was $25.8 million, representing a decrease of approximately 22.1% compared to 2022 bookings of $33.1 million. The decline in bookings was related to large orders of PVT150 systems that were received in 2022.
- Backlog as of December 31, 2023 of $18.4 million, an increase from $17.8 million from the prior year end.
Original – CVD Equipment
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Ideal Power Inc. announced the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 2,000,000 shares of its common stock (or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof) at an offering price of $7.50 per share of common stock.
Titan Partners Group, a division of American Capital Partners, acted as sole book-running manager for the offering.
The gross proceeds to the Company from the offering were approximately $15 million, before deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate and working capital purposes.
The offering was made pursuant to an effective “shelf” registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-269060) previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on December 29, 2022, and declared effective by the SEC on January 9, 2023. A final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to and describing the terms of the offering were filed with the SEC on March 27, 2024.
Electronic copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering, may be obtained by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by contacting Titan Partners Group LLC, a division of American Capital Partners, LLC, 4 World Trade Center, 29th Floor, New York, New York 10007, by phone at (929) 833-1246 or by email at prospectus@titanpartnersgrp.com.
Original – Ideal Power
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LATEST NEWSToshiba Starts Volume Shipments of SmartMCD™ Series of Gate Driver ICs with Embedded Microcontroller
March 28, 2024
2 Min ReadToshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation has started volume shipments of the SmartMCD™ Series of gate driver ICs with embedded microcontroller (MCU). The first product, “TB9M003FG“, is suitable for sensorless control of three-phase brushless DC motors used in automotive applications, including water and oil pumps, fans and blowers.
TB9M003FG combines a microcontroller (Arm® Cortex®-M0), flash memory, power control functions and communications interface functions into a gate driver that controls and drives N-ch power MOSFETs for three-phase brushless DC motor drives.
This integration will reduce system sizes and component counts while realizing advanced and complex motor control for a wide variety of automotive motor applications. The new product also incorporates Toshiba’s proprietary vector engine, hardware for sensorless sinewave control, reducing the load on the microcontroller, and the size of the software.
A reference design using TB9M003FG, “Motor Driving Circuit for Automotive Body Electronics Using SmartMCD™”, is now available on Toshiba’s website.
The expanding market for electric vehicles (xEV) requires electrification, component integration, downsized electronic control unit (ECUs), and quieter motors. In response, the new product contributes to downsizing of ECUs by integrating a microcontroller into the gate driver, and to quieter motors by using vector control.
Original – Toshiba
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Infineon Technologies AG introduced the first product in its new advanced power MOSFET technology OptiMOS™ 7 80 V. The IAUCN08S7N013 features a significantly increased power density and is available in the versatile, robust, and high-current SSO8 5 x 6 mm² SMD package.
The OptiMOS™ 7 80 V offering is a perfect match for the upcoming 48 V board net applications. It is designed specifically for the high performance, high quality and robustness needed for demanding automotive applications like automotive DC-DC converters in EVs, 48 V motor control, for instance electric power steering (EPS), 48 V battery switches and electric two- and three-wheelers.
Compared to the previous generation, the R DS(on) of the Infineon IAUCN08S7N013 has been reduced by more than 50 percent, and is now the best R DS(on) in the industry with a maximum of 1.3 mΩ. Users benefit from minimized conduction losses, superior switching performance and the highest power density in a 5 x 6 mm² package.
In addition, the IAUCN08S7N013 also features low package resistance and inductance, as well as a high avalanche current capability. For automotive applications, it has an extended qualification that goes beyond AEC-Q101.
The IAUCN08S7N013 is in mass-production and available now. More information is available at www.infineon.com/iaucn08s7n013/.
Original – Infineon Technologies
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Navitas Semiconductor announced its participation in the upcoming Power Electronics International conference on April 16th– 17th 2024, in Brussels, Belgium.
Grid reliability is a key factor in a $1.3 trillion power semiconductor opportunity as Navitas’ technologies accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies. Navitas will introduce the latest GaNFast™ and GeneSiC™ products to the European audience, including new Gen-3 Fast SiC for high-power and higher-speed performance, plus GaNSafe™ – the world’s most protected GaN power devices.
Navitas will present the following on April 17th:
- “3.3 kV SiC MOSFETs Accelerate Grid-Connected Energy Storage,” Dr. Ranbir Singh, EVP GeneSiC
Synopsis: The grid supplies energy from generators and delivers it to customers via transmission and distribution (T&D) networks. In the U.S., the use of electricity storage to support and optimize T&D has been limited due to high storage costs and limited design and operational experience. Recent improvements in storage and power technologies, however, coupled with changes in the marketplace, herald an era of expanding opportunity for electricity storage. SiC inverters will revolutionize electricity delivery, renewable energy integration, and energy storage. It is well-recognized that silicon-based semiconductors have inherent limitations that reduce their suitability for utility-scale applications.
- “Bi-directional circuits open up new opportunities in off-grid applications,” Alfred Hesener, Senior Director Industrial and Consumer Applications
Synopsis: Bi-directional circuits are critical to effectively smooth the supply/demand variation in renewable energy applications. In the past, they were expensive to make and complex to implement in power electronics applications. Wide bandgap GaN power ICs with integrated drive and advanced circuit functions deliver easy-to-use, reliable, high power density, and functionality for power factor correction circuits, solar inverters, and solid-state circuit breakers.
Original – Navitas Semiconductor
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Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. introduced two new FRED Pt® 500 A Ultrafast soft recovery diode modules in the new TO-244 Gen III package. Offering higher reliability than previous-generation solutions, the Vishay Semiconductors VS-VSUD505CW60 and VS-VSUD510CW60 are designed to reduce losses and EMI / RFI in high frequency power conditioning systems.
The rugged TO-244 package of the diode modules released today withstands 46 000 IOL cycles at given conditions, offering an improved life expectancy over previous-generation devices. In addition, the industry-standard package is footprint-compatible with competing solutions in the TO-244 to provide a drop-in replacement for existing designs.
The VSUD505CW60 and VS-VSUD510CW60 are ideally suited for high frequency welding; high current converters and ballast water management systems (BWMS) in railway equipment, cranes, and ships; UPS; and other applications where switching losses comprise a significant portion of the total losses. In these applications, the softness of their recovery eliminates the need for a snubber, reducing component counts and lowering costs.
Offered in a common cathode configuration, the diode modules provide low forward voltage drop down to 0.82 V, thermal resistance — junction to case — of 0.16 °C/W, and an operating temperature range up to +175 °C.
Device Specification Table:
Part number VS-VSUD505CW60 VS-VSUD510CW60 VR (V) 600 IF(AV) (A) 500 Qrr typical (nC) 460 1770 trr (ns) 178 270 VFM @ 250 A, +175 °C (V) 0.95 0.82 RthJC per diode (°C/W) 0.160 Package TO-244 Samples and production quantities of the new FRED Pt® soft recovery diode modules are available now, with lead times of 26 weeks.
Original – Vishay Intertechnology
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Toshiba Corporation announced a new Toshiba Group Policy on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) that takes Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) initiatives promoted by the Group to a new level with the addition of Equity (E) and Belonging (B). The policy applies to all executives and employees of Toshiba Group in Japan and overseas.
The addition of E represents fair provision of opportunities that allow all employees to take on challenges and flourish, so that all employees are able to maximize their abilities and contribute to the organization. B indicates realizing circumstances where each individual feels that, “As a member of the organization, I am in a place where I can make the most of myself,” leading to higher engagement, productivity, and employee retention.
The policy summarizes an approach to DEIB closely attuned to the times. Toshiba Group will use it to foster a corporate culture in which all employees can turn their diversity into strengths, find fulfillment in working for the Group, and feel that they are growing by taking on various challenges while maximizing their individual capabilities.
Since establishing an organization to promote D&I in 2004, under the direct control of the CEO, Toshiba Group has promoted D&I as part of the management strategy. Today, a close alignment of management goals and human resources policy is essential, and awareness of the importance of information disclosure on diversity and human capital is increasing globally. With the new policy, Toshiba Group intends to improve employee engagement and also to promote stakeholder understanding of the Group by communicating its basic stance on the participation of diverse human resources in an easy-to-understand manner.
Guided by the basic commitment of “Committed to People, Committed to the Future,” Toshiba Group will further strengthen its efforts to promote diversity based on the DEIB policy, with the aim of achieving both employee and company growth.
Toshiba Group DEIB Policy Website
https://www.global.toshiba/ww/sustainability/corporate/performance/social/diversity.htmlOriginal – Toshiba
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EPC Space announced a distribution agreement with Avnet, a global distributor of electronic components and services. Avnet will be a global distributor for EPC Space’s line of radiation hardened (Rad Hard) GaN power devices qualified for satellite and high-reliability applications.
EPC Space offers a family of Rad Hard power GaN devices that includes discrete transistors, Integrated Circuits (ICs), and Modules that offer significant performance advantages over competitive silicon-based space level power devices. EPC Space’s GaN technology devices are smaller, have lower resistance, and have superior switching performance compared to silicon-based components and solutions.
Critical spaceborne applications that benefit from the performance improvements that EPC Space devices offer include satellite’s DC-DC converters, reaction and momentum wheels, solar array drive assembly, micro-pumps for propulsion systems, and more.
“Partnering with Avnet, a global leader in distribution solutions, allows EPC Space to offer timely and reliable service to customers seeking high reliability GaN power solutions,” said Bel Lazar, EPC Space’s CEO.
Original – EPC Space
