In order to expand the compound semiconductor material business, Sumitomo Chemical announced on August 1 that it merged with its wholly-owned subsidiary Sciox, which will be effective from October 1 this year, incorporating it into the company's IT-related chemicals division.
Sciox is the world's leading manufacturer of GaN (gallium nitride) single crystal substrates. In 2015, Sumitomo Chemical established Sciox after acquiring Hitachi Metal's semiconductor material business.
After the merger, Sumitomo stated that it plans to increase the sales of GaN single crystal substrates to more than 30 billion yen (about 1.52 billion yuan) within 10 years, which is more than three times the current level. At the same time, it will invest 10 billion yen (about 500 million yuan) to establish the production facilities needed to expand the 4-inch gallium nitride substrate around 2024.
At present, Sumitomo and Saiox's Ibaraki prefecture plant has started, and the plant will be used to produce 4-inch GaN single crystal substrates. It is reported that the company has also successfully produced a 6-inch GaN substrate prototype, and is stepping up the establishment of mass production technology.