Recently, Infineon and GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) signed a silicon carbide (SiC) ingot supply agreement with an initial period of five years. Through this supply contract, it will further ensure that Infineon's growing demand in specific areas can be met.
It is reported that silicon carbide is currently mainly used for photovoltaic inverters, industrial power supplies and charging piles. Compared with traditional silicon-based, these fields can better demonstrate the system-level advantages of silicon carbide. At present, more and more industrial applications such as continuous power supply systems and inverters use this new semiconductor technology. In addition, silicon carbide also shows great application potential in electric vehicles, including main drives and on-board charging devices.
Peter Wawer, President of Infineon's Industrial Power Control Division, said that they see a steady increase in the demand for silicon carbide switches in industrial applications, and the automotive industry is also rapidly following up. With this supply agreement, Infineon can better meet the rapidly growing needs of customers. GTAT's high-quality silicon carbide ingots will meet current and future first-class material standards, will be conducive to the development of internal technology and the improvement of core competitiveness of thin wafer manufacturing, and provide strong support for Infineon's silicon carbide growth plan.
GregKnight, GTAT president and chief executive officer, said that the growth of silicon carbide usage depends largely on the substantial reduction in substrate costs, and this agreement is an important step in achieving this goal. Infineon has launched the industry's most extensive CoolSiC product portfolio for the industrial application market, and is rapidly expanding its product portfolio for consumer and automotive applications.