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SK keyfoundry has announced a significant advancement in its compound power semiconductor strategy by accelerating the development of silicon carbide (SiC)-based technologies. This move marks a major step in its efforts to expand into the global power semiconductor market. Central to this strategy is the recent acquisition of SK powertech, a company with established expertise and commercialized products in the SiC sector.
Leveraging its strong manufacturing capabilities and extensive intellectual property portfolio, SK keyfoundry plans to integrate SK powertech’s advanced SiC processes and design technologies to generate strategic synergy across its operations. The acquisition positions SK keyfoundry to achieve technological self-sufficiency in SiC power devices, enhancing its competitiveness in next-generation compound semiconductor markets.
The company is now targeting the development of SiC MOSFET 1200V process technologies by the end of 2025, with plans to launch its dedicated SiC-based foundry services in the first half of 2026. SK keyfoundry’s roadmap includes expanding its process technologies for high-voltage, high-efficiency applications such as electric vehicle powertrain systems, industrial power conversion equipment, and renewable energy inverters.
To support this effort, the company is reinforcing its process optimization and reliability evaluation capabilities, while establishing a dedicated SiC development team to deliver tailored solutions for customers across various power-critical industries.
The demand for SiC and other compound semiconductors continues to surge, driven by their superior energy efficiency and performance advantages. Key growth markets include electric vehicles, energy storage systems (ESS), 5G infrastructure, and data centers. According to Omdia, the global SiC market is projected to grow at an annual rate of over 24% from 2025 through 2030, underscoring the strategic importance of this technology.
“The acquisition of SK powertech, a specialist in SiC, marked a pivotal step for SK keyfoundry in securing its own distinctive technological edge in the compound semiconductor field,” said Derek D. Lee, CEO of SK keyfoundry. “By combining the core development capabilities of both companies and launching high-efficiency SiC power semiconductor process technologies and products, SK keyfoundry aims to establish differentiated technological leadership in the rapidly growing global market for high-voltage and high-efficiency compound semiconductor applications.”
Original – SK keyfoundry
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Micro Commercial Components (MCC) has introduced the PB-A Series of high-voltage bridge rectifiers (PBA2510 and PBA3516), designed to address two critical challenges in demanding power electronics: insulation performance in contaminated or humid environments, and effective thermal management for long-term system reliability.
The PB-A Series features a specially engineered package that provides creepage distances greater than 4 mm, enhancing surface insulation and reducing the risk of tracking or leakage under harsh environmental conditions. These characteristics make the devices ideal for industrial and infrastructure systems where safety margins and insulation integrity are essential.
Each device uses glass-passivated chip junctions, which help stabilize reverse characteristics and minimize leakage over the product’s lifespan. Additionally, optimized internal thermal conductivity facilitates efficient heat transfer from the die to the case. This results in lower junction temperatures, supporting smaller heatsink designs, more compact system layouts, or increased power output without compromising durability.
Available in 25 A and 35 A variants, with voltage ratings of 1000 V and 1600 V, the PB-A Series offers strong surge current capabilities. These devices are built to handle high inrush currents and AC line transients while maintaining dependable blocking performance. Their low thermal resistance and forward voltage drop contribute to system efficiency, while the mechanically robust and easy-to-mount PB-A package simplifies integration.
The PB-A Series is ideally suited for AC front-end applications in switched-mode power supplies (SMPS), uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), battery chargers, and various industrial and infrastructure power systems where durability, thermal efficiency, and insulation reliability are critical.
Original – Micro Commercial Components
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Infineon Technologies AG announced the integration of its advanced gallium nitride (GaN) technology into the next generation of solar microinverters from Enphase Energy, Inc. The collaboration highlights Infineon’s CoolGaN™ bi-directional switch (BDS) as a key enabler of higher power output, greater energy efficiency, and improved system reliability in Enphase’s new IQ9 Series Microinverters.
Specifically, the IQ9N-3P™ Commercial Microinverter benefits from simplified system design and reduced installation and balance-of-system costs. The use of CoolGaN BDS technology allows for compact and highly efficient power conversion by enabling single-stage operation and replacing multiple unidirectional switches with a single bi-directional device. This innovation significantly reduces power loss—outperforming conventional silicon switches by 68% and GaN unidirectional switches by 42%.
“As a market leader in power semiconductors, Infineon masters all relevant materials: silicon (Si), silicon carbide (SiC), and gallium nitride,” said Adam White, Division President, Power & Sensor Systems at Infineon Technologies AG. “The development of GaN technology is a key part of our vision, offering the most efficient power semiconductor solutions for companies like Enphase to create high-performance, efficient applications to drive the widespread adoption of photovoltaic systems.”
Ron Swenson, Senior Vice President of Operations at Enphase Energy, added, “Utilizing Infineon’s CoolGaN bi-directional switch technology allows us to service a much larger segment of the commercial market with our IQ9 Series Microinverters. This teamwork highlights our commitment to ongoing innovation in the solar energy industry. We’re excited by the performance gains enabled by GaN-powered technology and look forward to deepening our long-term partnership with Infineon.”
The CoolGaN BDS is a critical technology for renewable energy applications, including solar photovoltaics, wind power, energy storage systems, electric vehicle motor drives, on-board chargers, and high-performance AI servers—applications that demand maximum efficiency, power density, and long-term reliability.
The collaboration aligns with both companies’ commitment to addressing global renewable energy demand. According to the International Energy Agency, solar PV accounted for approximately 7% of total global electricity generation in 2024. By 2030, solar PV is projected to contribute to 80% of new renewable capacity additions, totaling over 5500 GW.
Infineon continues to expand its GaN leadership, with more than 40 new product announcements over the past year. The company is progressing on the transition to scalable GaN production using 300-millimeter wafers, further enhancing its capacity to meet growing global demand for high-efficiency power devices.
Through this partnership, Infineon and Enphase are advancing the performance and reach of solar technologies, supporting the global shift toward clean energy and decarbonization.
Original – Infineon Technologies
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Infineon Technologies AG has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2025, which ended on 30 September 2025. Despite macroeconomic headwinds and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, the company delivered solid results, demonstrating the resilience of its diversified business model.
Q4 FY 2025 Highlights
- Revenue: €3.943 billion
- Segment Result: €717 million
- Segment Result Margin: 18.2%
Full-Year FY 2025 Highlights
- Revenue: €14.662 billion, down 2% compared to the previous year
- Segment Result: €2.560 billion
- Segment Result Margin: 17.5%
- Adjusted earnings per share: €1.39
- Negative Free Cash Flow of €1.051 billion, due to the acquisition of Marvell’s Automotive Ethernet business
- Adjusted Free Cash Flow (excluding strategic investments): €1.803 billion
CEO Commentary
“Infineon has met expectations in the 2025 fiscal year despite challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions. Our results underline the resilience of our business model,” said Jochen Hanebeck, CEO of Infineon Technologies AG. “In the 2026 fiscal year, we are expecting moderate growth in a still mixed market environment. While momentum in automotive, industrial, and consumer markets remains modest, we are seeing rapid global investment in AI infrastructure, and we anticipate significant growth in demand for our power supply solutions for AI data centers.”Outlook for FY 2026
Based on an assumed exchange rate of US$1.15 to the euro, Infineon projects:- Q1 FY 2026 Revenue: Approximately €3.6 billion
- Q1 Segment Result Margin: Forecast in the mid-to-high teens percentage range
- Full-Year FY 2026 Revenue: Moderate growth expected, despite currency headwinds
- Adjusted Gross Margin: Low-forties percentage range
- Segment Result Margin: High-teens percentage range
- Planned Investments: Approximately €2.2 billion
- Free Cash Flow: Expected at around €1.1 billion
- Adjusted Free Cash Flow (excluding frontend building investments): Estimated at €1.6 billion
Infineon is significantly increasing its AI data center revenue target for fiscal year 2026 to around €1.5 billion, with a long-term market opportunity projected to reach between €8 billion and €12 billion by the end of the decade.
“Our success in the AI infrastructure market will depend on our innovation, speed of development, manufacturing capabilities, and close customer relationships,” Hanebeck added. “These strengths position us well to capture opportunities in this high-growth segment.”
Infineon continues to focus on technology leadership in power semiconductors, automotive solutions, and industrial applications as it navigates a complex but opportunity-rich global market environment.
Original – Infineon Technologies
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GlobalFoundries Inc. has announced its preliminary financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, highlighting strong performance across revenue, profitability, and cash flow metrics. The company also shared recent business milestones that reinforce its strategic position in key semiconductor markets.
Third Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights
- Revenue: $1.688 billion
- Gross margin: 24.8%, with non-IFRS gross margin at 26.0%
- Operating margin: 11.6%, with non-IFRS operating margin at 15.4%
- Net income: $249 million, with non-IFRS net income at $232 million
- Diluted earnings per share: $0.44, with non-IFRS diluted EPS at $0.41
- Adjusted EBITDA (non-IFRS): $573 million
- Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities: $4.2 billion
- Cash flow from operations: $595 million
- Adjusted free cash flow (non-IFRS): $451 million
“GF delivered a strong third quarter, with revenue, gross margin, operating margin, and earnings per share at the high end of the guidance ranges,” said Tim Breen, CEO of GlobalFoundries. “We continue to see momentum across key applications including automotive, communications infrastructure, and data centers. Our improved product mix is contributing to enhanced profitability, and we are encouraged by the continued interest in our silicon photonics and FDX platforms.”
Recent Business Developments
- In August, GlobalFoundries launched volume production of its Complementary Bi-CMOS (CBIC) platform, a high-performance silicon germanium (SiGe) process optimized for markets requiring energy-efficient, high-speed connectivity such as wireless infrastructure, smartphones, satellite communications, and industrial IoT.
- In October, the company expanded its partnership with Silicon Labs to manufacture wireless SoCs on GF’s new 40nm Ultra Low Power platform at its Malta, New York facility. This builds on its manufacturing footprint in Singapore and Germany and enhances U.S.-based chip supply capabilities.
- Supported by funding under the European Chips Act, GF also announced plans to scale its Dresden facility to produce more than one million wafers annually by the end of 2028. This investment will position the site as the largest of its kind in Europe and support long-term partnerships with customers including NXP, Infineon, Aumovio, and Bosch.
GlobalFoundries continues to execute on its strategy of enabling high-value semiconductor platforms tailored for growth markets, while maintaining financial discipline and expanding global capacity. The company remains focused on long-term innovation across differentiated technologies and regional manufacturing capabilities.
Original – GlobalFoundries
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Aehr Test Systems has announced the shipment of its Dual-Echo™ test and burn-in system to a leading global manufacturer of analog and embedded semiconductor devices. The delivery reflects growing demand for Aehr’s lower-power, package-level burn-in systems, which complement its established wafer-level burn-in solutions.
With over 100 Echo systems installed across more than 20 semiconductor companies worldwide, Aehr is experiencing increasing capacity requirements from its customer base. The expanding demand points to broader opportunities for Echo and related systems in both current and emerging markets.
“In addition to the continued strength we are seeing in our wafer-level burn-in business, particularly with multiple leading companies requesting benchmark evaluations for their AI processors, we are seeing increasing demand for our package-level burn-in systems,” said Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr Test Systems. “This includes our high-power Sonoma systems and our lower-power Echo and Tahoe platforms. We remain committed to our growing customer base and are positioned to scale our offerings further.”
Alberto Salamone, Executive Vice President for Packaged Part Burn-In at Aehr, added, “The Echo continues to demonstrate exceptional reliability and performance, making it one of the most trusted logic burn-in solutions in the market. As we expand production capacity, we are seeing strong and sustained interest in these systems.”
The Echo system is tailored for low-power logic and mixed-signal devices, which represent a significant portion of semiconductor shipments across consumer, industrial, and application-specific segments. Echo forms part of Aehr’s comprehensive burn-in system portfolio, which also includes the Tahoe™ system for medium-power burn-in and the Sonoma™ system for ultra-high-power AI processor burn-in.
Key Features of the Echo System Include:
- Advanced and intuitive software: A graphical interface designed for engineering flexibility and production security, featuring real-time debug capabilities.
- Modular hardware with high parallelism: Multi-chamber architecture supports scalable testing with up to four independent thermal zones.
- Support for digital and analog testing: Ideal for a wide range of mixed-signal and logic devices.
The shipment of the Dual-Echo™ system underscores Aehr’s growing presence in package-level test markets and its continued leadership in high-reliability semiconductor burn-in solutions.
Original – Aehr Test Systems
