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Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Institute of Science Tokyo, University of Tsukuba and Quemix Corporation announced a world-first explanation of how hydrogen creates free electrons in silicon through its interaction with specific crystal defects—an advance that can cut power losses in insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and open pathways for future ultra-wide bandgap devices.
Using first-principles calculations alongside electrical, optical and ESR measurements, the team showed that when hydrogen binds near the I4 defect (an interstitial silicon pair), it shifts the defect’s electronic states to favor electron release; the electron associated with hydrogen moves to the defect, which then emits a free electron.
Mitsubishi Electric also reported technical demonstrations on 1,200 V-class devices showing total power-loss reductions of 10% in IGBTs and 20% in diodes versus its 7th-generation products—performance gains linked to the newly clarified hydrogen mechanism and complementary substrate thinning.
Beyond silicon, initial calculations suggest the approach could help control electron levels in ultra-wide bandgap materials such as diamond and AlN, which are notoriously difficult to dope, potentially benefiting power semiconductors, RF devices and quantum sensors.
The collaborators aim to extend this mechanism to next-generation materials to further improve device efficiency and support decarbonization goals.
Original – Mitsubishi Electric
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Mitsubishi Electric Corporation will begin shipping samples on January 21 of four new trench silicon carbide MOSFET bare dies for power electronics equipment, including electric-vehicle traction inverters, onboard chargers, and power supplies for renewable energy such as solar. The new bare dies are designed to help embed advanced SiC devices directly into systems to lower power consumption while maintaining performance.
The devices will be showcased at the 40th Nepcon Japan R&D and Manufacturing show in Tokyo from January 21–23, with additional exhibitions planned in North America, Europe, China, India and other regions.
Growing decarbonization efforts are expanding the market for high-efficiency power electronics. Demand is rising for power semiconductors that enable EV traction inverters and renewable-energy systems to cut losses while preserving performance and quality.
Since 2010, Mitsubishi Electric has shipped SiC power modules that reduce energy use in air conditioners, industrial equipment and railway inverters. To meet the shift toward advanced bare-die integration, the company is introducing four new trench SiC-MOSFET bare dies that leverage a proprietary trench structure to cut power loss by approximately 50% versus planar SiC-MOSFETs. Proprietary manufacturing, including Mitsubishi Electric’s gate oxide film process, suppresses variation in power loss and on-resistance, supporting stable, long-term quality.
Original – Mitsubishi Electric
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Novel Crystal Technology, Inc., working under NEDO’s “Key and Advanced Technology R&D through Cross Community Collaboration Program” for β-Ga2O3 wafers, power devices and modules, announced a new crystal growth method that eliminates precious-metal crucibles. The Drop-fed Growth (DG) process supplies raw-material melt as droplets, sharply reducing the use of iridium compared with the conventional Edge-defined Film-fed Growth (EFG) method and enabling β-Ga2O3 substrate manufacturing costs to fall to approximately one-tenth of current levels.
The company has demonstrated 95-mm-diameter β-Ga2O3 crystals grown without iridium crucibles. Using induction heating to raise the temperature inside the chamber, the crystal surface (seed crystal) is heated and locally melted by radiation through a shaped aperture that stabilizes the temperature profile and supports scale-up to larger diameters. Continuous droplet feeding of the melt onto the crystal surface, combined with downward pulling, enables steady growth without a precious-metal container.
Key benefits of the DG method include:
- Dramatic reduction in iridium usage by eliminating precious-metal crucibles
- Easier scale-up to large diameters via controlled surface heating and melting
- Continuous feed enabling production of long crystal boules
A 95-mm cylindrical crystal with a 50-mm grown section has been produced; n-type doping was introduced, as indicated by the crystal’s dark-blue coloration. Patent protection for the DG method is in place or underway in multiple jurisdictions, including Japan (Patent No. 7633637; application 2025-061932), the United States (US 11,725,299 B2; US 12,163,246 B2), Europe (EP 3 945 147 A1), and China (CN 114000188 A).
Looking ahead, Novel Crystal Technology plans to increase crystal diameter and quality using DG, targeting shipments of 150-mm (6-inch) β-Ga2O3 substrates in 2029 and 200-mm (8-inch) substrates in 2035. The company expects the method’s cost and scalability advantages to accelerate adoption of β-Ga2O3 for low-loss power devices across medium-voltage applications such as home appliances and EVs, and high-voltage systems including rail and grid infrastructure.
Original – Novel Crystal Technology
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Wolfspeed, Inc. announced successful production of a single-crystal 300 mm (12-inch) silicon carbide wafer. Backed by one of the industry’s largest silicon carbide IP portfolios—more than 2,300 issued and pending patents worldwide—the company is pioneering the transition to 300 mm and setting a path toward future volume commercialization.
The advance represents a meaningful step for next-generation computing platforms, immersive AR/VR systems, and high-efficiency power devices. By extending silicon carbide to 300 mm, Wolfspeed is opening new performance thresholds and manufacturing scalability for demanding semiconductor applications.
“Producing a 300 mm single crystal silicon carbide wafer is a significant technology achievement and the result of years of focused innovation in crystal growth, boule and wafer processing,” said Elif Balkas, Chief Technology Officer at Wolfspeed. “It positions Wolfspeed to support the industry’s most transformative technologies, especially critical elements of the AI ecosystem, immersive augmented and virtual reality systems, and other advanced power device applications.”
Wolfspeed’s 300 mm platform is designed to unify high-volume silicon carbide manufacturing for power electronics with advanced capabilities in high-purity semi-insulating substrates used in optical and RF systems. This convergence enables a new class of wafer-scale integration across optical, photonic, thermal, and power domains.
As AI workloads drive data centers toward their power limits, the 300 mm silicon carbide platform will help integrate high-voltage power delivery, advanced thermal solutions, and active interconnects at wafer scale—pushing system performance beyond conventional transistor scaling. In AR/VR, silicon carbide’s material properties—including mechanical strength, thermal conductivity, and optical refractive control—support compact, lightweight architectures that pair high-brightness displays with effective thermal management.
Beyond AI and AR/VR, moving silicon carbide to 300 mm enhances the ability to scale production of advanced power devices for applications such as high-voltage grid transmission and next-generation industrial systems, improving economics and long-term supply assurance.
“This 300 mm breakthrough is more than a technical milestone—it unlocks new opportunities for silicon carbide as a strategic material,” said Poshun Chiu, Principal Analyst, Compound Semiconductor, Yole Group. “It clearly demonstrates that silicon carbide is advancing to the next level of manufacturing maturity required for the coming decade of electrification, digitalization, and AI, and provides the market with a credible roadmap toward higher-volume production, improved economics and long-term supply assurance.”
Original – Wolfspeed
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Soitec announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Laurent Rémont as Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026.
Rémont, 54, currently serves as Senior Vice President at Infineon Technologies, where he led the Radio Frequency and Sensors business. He previously was Chief Technology Officer at Kontron AG and spent more than fifteen years at STMicroelectronics in general management and R&D roles. His international background spans markets central to Soitec’s strategy—including mobile communications, automotive and artificial intelligence—and brings extensive experience managing complex technological and industrial operations.
The Board underscored its intent to build on the Group’s recent progress, enhancing the value of Soitec’s diversified product and technology portfolio—particularly around AI—and seizing opportunities across the semiconductor market. “We are convinced that Laurent Rémont has all the right attributes to lead Soitec into the next stage of its development,” said Frédéric Lissalde, Chairman of Soitec’s Board of Directors. “His knowledge of the semiconductor industry and value chains, upstream and downstream, is a great match for the profile the Board was seeking to oversee implementation of the Group’s strategic priorities. We were particularly impressed by his innovative mindset, his strategic vision and his proven ability to design and deploy transformative roadmaps. I would like to thank Pierre Barnabé for his ongoing commitment during a particularly demanding period for Soitec.”
“I am proud to join Soitec and grateful for the trust placed in me,” said Laurent Rémont. “Our industry is undergoing rapid change, driven by innovation and the emergence of new technologies that are profoundly transforming how we use technology. Soitec plays a key role at the heart of these transformations, and I look forward to working alongside the management team and all employees to build the next phase of the Group’s development.”
Rémont will join Soitec on March 16, 2026, as a special advisor to CEO Pierre Barnabé before succeeding him at the beginning of the following month. Pierre Barnabé, who announced his resignation on October 1, 2025, will step down on March 31, 2026.
The appointment follows a rigorous selection process led by the Board of Directors and recommended by the Board’s Compensation, Nominations and Board Governance Committee. Rémont’s appointment as a director remains subject to shareholder approval at Soitec’s Annual General Meeting in July 2026; subject to that approval, his three-year term as director will commence on that date.
Original – Soitec
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Cambridge GaN Devices appointed Fabio Necco as Chief Executive Officer. The move is intended to accelerate CGD’s expansion into priority markets.
Necco succeeds CGD Co-founder Giorgia Longobardi, who transitions to Chief Marketing Officer while remaining a Director on CGD’s Board and serving on the Advisory Board of the International Semiconductor Industry Group (I.S.I.G.). “I am delighted to welcome Fabio to CGD and hand over the day-to-day leadership of the company while I channel my energy into my passion for bringing advanced, sustainable and energy-efficient power electronics solutions to market,” said Longobardi. “Fabio is the right person with the right skill set to take CGD into its next growth phase.”
Necco joins CGD from onsemi, where he served as vice president and division general manager. He brings more than 25 years of experience across power electronics, applications engineering, vehicle electrification and data centers—areas central to CGD’s strategy. “CGD is at an exciting juncture,” said Necco. “I’m impressed with the company’s progress and am eager to lead the team into the next stages of product development while substantially increasing our presence in key markets.”
CGD develops GaN devices that enable designers to build sustainable, high-efficiency power systems. Its ICeGaN® technology uses a monolithic, single-chip architecture that integrates all necessary components on one die, improving efficiency and performance while simplifying design. The portfolio emphasizes compact, engineer-led devices suited to market-specific requirements such as traction/auxiliary inverters for electric vehicles and industrial power conversion. A focus on bare die, ease of use, robust gate design and parallel operation supports a broad range of power applications.
Original – Cambridge GaN Devices
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ROHM Co., Ltd. and Tata Electronics, a pioneering leader in India’s electronics and semiconductor manufacturing sector, announced a strategic partnership to manufacture semiconductors in India for both domestic and global markets. The collaboration leverages each company’s strengths to expand business opportunities and deepen ties between the Japanese and Indian semiconductor ecosystems.
As an initial focus, the partners will establish a manufacturing framework for power semiconductors in India by combining ROHM’s device technologies with Tata Electronics’ advanced backend capabilities. By integrating sales channels and networks, the partnership aims to unlock new opportunities in the Indian market and deliver higher-value solutions to a broad customer base.
As the first step, Tata Electronics will assemble and test ROHM’s India-designed automotive-grade Nch 100 V, 300 A Si MOSFET in a TOLL package, with mass production shipments targeted for next year. The companies will also explore co-development of high-value packaging technologies and will jointly market products manufactured through the collaboration.
The partnership embodies the Government of India’s “Make in India” vision and the philosophy of “Designed in India, Manufactured in India.” By building an end-to-end ecosystem that includes design, development and manufacturing within India, the ROHM–Tata partnership enhances Domestic Value Addition and supports a stable supply of products optimized for local market needs, with global reach.
“Tata Electronics is deeply committed to pioneering a thriving semiconductor industry in India. We are excited to partner with ROHM, a global leader in semiconductor solutions. With a strong legacy of quality and reliability across products for a broad range of markets, ROHM brings deep domain expertise to this partnership. Through our semiconductor assembly and test facilities, Tata Electronics will deliver advanced chip packaging services to support ROHM in creating products tailored for Indian and global markets. This partnership will go a long way in bringing in trust and resilience in the global semiconductor supply chain while also expanding our respective business opportunities,” said Dr. Randhir Thakur, CEO & MD, Tata Electronics.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Tata Electronics, a leading Indian corporate group with advanced packaging capabilities. Through this partnership, we aim to expand our lineup of packaged products manufactured in India and help build a sustainable, region-based supply chain network. We are confident that this collaboration will enable us to meet the growing demand from Indian customers seeking domestically produced semiconductors. We also envision supplying jointly manufactured products to the global market,” said Dr. Kazuhide Ino, Member of the Board, Managing Executive Officer, ROHM Co., Ltd.
Original – ROHM
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Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. announced an agreement with Robert Bosch GmbH (Bosch) to collaborate on silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor modules for electric vehicles featuring package compatibility. The partnership targets faster design cycles for automakers and greater flexibility in sourcing as EV adoption accelerates.
SiC devices are increasingly used in EV inverter systems for their high breakdown voltage and low loss, enabling smaller, lighter, and more efficient powertrains that extend driving range. Fuji Electric’s SiC modules leverage proprietary packaging to deliver high power density and efficiency, with flexible chip sizing and counts to meet a wide spectrum of power requirements and circuit configurations.
Under the collaboration, the companies plan to develop SiC modules with mechanical compatibility—aligned package outer dimensions and terminal positions—so either module can be integrated into an inverter without additional mechanical changes. This approach is intended to shorten design timelines and diversify procurement, allowing customers to use modules from both suppliers without altering inverter specifications.
Fuji Electric and Bosch also plan joint development of application technologies related to cooler design and terminal connections for SiC module integration, and will provide technical support to customers. The initiative aims to enhance supply chain stability and further promote the adoption of electric vehicles.
Original – Fuji Electric
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onsemi announced a collaboration agreement with GlobalFoundries to co-develop and manufacture advanced gallium nitride (GaN) power products on GF’s state-of-the-art 200 mm eMode GaN-on-silicon process, beginning with 650 V devices. The partnership pairs GF’s process platform with onsemi’s silicon drivers, controllers and thermally enhanced packaging to enable smaller, higher-efficiency systems for AI data centers, automotive, industrial, and aerospace, defense and security applications.
The roadmap targets power supplies and DC-DC converters for AI infrastructure, onboard chargers and DC-DC converters for electric vehicles, solar microinverters and energy storage systems, as well as motor drives and other high-growth industrial and mission-critical markets. By combining device technology and package integration, the companies aim to raise power density, improve efficiency and simplify system design.
“This collaboration brings together onsemi’s system and product expertise with GlobalFoundries’ advanced GaN process to deliver new 650 V power devices for high-growth markets. Paired with our silicon drivers and controllers, these GaN products will enable customers to innovate and build smaller, more efficient power systems for AI data centers, EVs, space applications and beyond. We are on track to begin providing samples to customers in the first half of 2026, and scale rapidly to volume production,” said Dinesh Ramanathan, Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy, onsemi.
“By combining our 200 mm GaN-on-Si platform and U.S.-based manufacturing with onsemi’s deep system and product expertise, we’re accelerating high-efficiency solutions and building resilient supply chains for data centers, automotive, industrial, aerospace and defense, and other critical markets,” said Mike Hogan, Chief Business Officer, GlobalFoundries.
The effort expands onsemi’s intelligent power portfolio across low, medium and high-voltage lateral GaN and ultra high-voltage vertical GaN, enabling next-generation architectures that deliver more power in smaller footprints. Advantages include higher-frequency operation to reduce component count and size, bidirectional capability to unlock new topologies, and increased integration that combines GaN FETs with drivers, controllers, isolation and protection for faster design cycles and lower EMI.
Sampling is planned to begin in the first half of 2026.
Original – onsemi
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Texas Instruments (TI) announced the start of production at its newest 300 mm semiconductor fab in Sherman, TX, just three and a half years after breaking ground. TI leaders joined local and state officials to mark the opening of SM1, a state-of-the-art facility that will ramp in line with customer demand and ultimately produce tens of millions of chips daily for smartphones, automotive systems, medical devices, industrial robots, smart appliances and data centers.
As the largest foundational semiconductor manufacturer in the U.S., TI supplies analog and embedded processing devices that are essential to nearly every modern electronic system. Expanding the company’s 300 mm manufacturing footprint strengthens supply assurance and long-term capacity. By owning and controlling manufacturing, process technology and packaging, TI gains greater control over delivery and resilience for customers in any environment.
“The start of production at our newest wafer fab in Sherman, TX represents what TI does best: owning every part of the manufacturing process to deliver the foundational semiconductors that are vital for nearly every type of electronic system,” said Haviv Ilan, president and CEO of Texas Instruments. “As the largest analog and embedded processing semiconductor manufacturer in the U.S., TI is uniquely positioned to provide dependable 300 mm semiconductor manufacturing capacity at scale. We’re proud to have called North Texas home for nearly a century, and excited about how TI technology will enable the technological breakthroughs of the future.”
TI’s Sherman mega-site is planned for up to four connected wafer fabs, to be constructed and equipped as market demand warrants. At full build-out, the site is expected to support as many as 3,000 direct jobs, along with thousands more in supporting industries. The Sherman investment forms part of TI’s broader plan to invest more than $60 billion across seven fabs in Texas and Utah—positioned as the largest commitment to foundational semiconductor manufacturing in U.S. history. With 15 manufacturing sites worldwide, TI’s internal operations leverage decades of proven manufacturing expertise to provide greater supply-chain control and dependable delivery for customers.
Original – Texas Instruments
