1 Tianke Heda Beijing factory bids for 8-inch mass production equipment
Recently, according to the information of China International Bidding Network, Tianke Heda Beijing Base is bidding for 8-inch substrate mass production line equipment, including chamfering, polishing, grinding, cleaning and various testing equipment and other products of the processing production line. It is stated that Tianke Heda will further lay out 8-inch mass production capacity.
During the Semicon, Tianke Heda has exhibited the company's 8-inch conductive substrate (500um), 8-inch conductive substrate (350um) and 8-inch epitaxial wafer products, Tianke Heda said that the company will create an integrated solution of substrate + epitaxy, provide a rich product portfolio, and provide customers with more comprehensive protection and services.
In fact, during Semicon China, the focus of silicon carbide substrate and epitaxial materials enterprises exhibiting and displaying almost all of them was on the 8-inch aspect, according to experts said that three and a half generations of tracking at the exhibition site, Tianke Heda, Tianyue Advanced, Shuoke Crystal, Tongguang Crystal, Jingrui Materials, Hesheng New Materials and other substrate companies showed 8-inch product samples.
Tianyue 6/8 inch substrate products
8-inch exhibit of homophototic crystals
An 8-inch exhibit of Halcyon New Materials
An 8-inch exhibit of the Shuoke Crystal
Jingsheng's 8-inch exhibits
Microchip's 8-inch exhibit at the Yangtze River
The domestic 8-inch substrate has begun to have mass production capacity
In the past year, the technological progress of domestic substrate materials has been very fast, and from the disclosure of cooperation information of domestic substrate head enterprises, overseas manufacturers Infineon, Bosch, onsemi and other companies have begun to use domestic substrates in batches in the manufacture of 6-inch SiC MOS-level products.
In addition, the domestic 8-inch substrate sample is also very active in sending samples to the sea, and we learned in our interview with a leading power semiconductor manufacturer in Europe that the company was surprised by the quality of the domestic 8-inch substrate sample delivery, and used the domestic 8-inch substrate in small batches in the internal 8-inch wafer line debugging.
It is worth noting that the development rhythm of domestic enterprises in 8-inch substrate samples is much faster than the switching speed of 4-inch to 6-inch substrate in that year.
2 The manufacturing of 8-inch wafers by overseas manufacturers has reached the eve of mass production
Taking Wolfspeed, the global leader in silicon carbide, as an example, in July 2023, Wolfspeed announced that its 8-inch factory has begun to ship SiC MOSFETs to Chinese end customers in batches, and has begun to officially mass-produce 8-inch devices.
Other major overseas manufacturers have also put the mass production time at the end of 2024-2026 and began to invest on a large scale. If you look at the layout of major manufacturers, the layout of 8-inch wafer manufacturing mass production capacity will be completed from 2024 to 2025, which can be said to have entered the eve of mass production.
Source: InSemi Consulting Information Integration
Historically, 6-inch SiC wafers have been the mainstream choice in the market, however, with the increasing demand for higher performance and lower energy consumption in electronic devices, 6-inch wafers are starting to show limitations in some ways. In contrast, the emergence of 8-inch SiC wafers has brought significant advantages in terms of fab productivity, cost-effectiveness, and technology application.
First of all, from a productivity standpoint, 8-inch wafers have a much larger area than 6-inch wafers, which means that more chips can be cut in the same production batch, resulting in significantly higher throughput and efficiency. This change not only meets the growing demand for SiC devices, but also reduces the cost per chip through economies of scale, making high-performance SiC devices more affordable.
Secondly, in terms of technical applications, the introduction of 8-inch SiC wafers provides more possibilities for the design and manufacture of power electronic devices. Larger wafer sizes allow manufacturers to integrate more functional areas on a single wafer, which is critical to drive device miniaturization and integration.
In addition, in the manufacturing process of 8-inch wafers, more advanced process technology can be adopted, especially in the selection of equipment, and the automation degree of 8-inch wafer manufacturing equipment is much more advanced than that of 6-inch wafers, which can play a very important role in further improving the performance and reliability of the device. In our previous survey of industry insiders, some experts mentioned that the mass production of next-generation silicon carbide trench structure devices is also easier to achieve on the 8-inch wafer manufacturing production line.
Finally, from a cost-effectiveness perspective, the long-term economic benefits of 8-inch SiC wafers are clear despite the high initial investment cost. With the expansion of production scale and continuous optimization of technology, the cost of 8-inch wafers will gradually decrease, and its competitiveness in the market will continue to increase.
3. The domestic 8-inch wafer manufacturing layout began to explore
In the 2023 financial data statement, the company focused on the company's plan to build the first 8-inch SiC Mosfet test line in China in 2024.
Unlike the radical layout of 8 inches of overseas enterprises, the choice of domestic enterprises in expanding production is much more difficult.
The most important of these should be that there is still a large amount of unconsumed 6-inch production capacity in China. According to incomplete statistics, the production capacity of domestic wafer manufacturing has exceeded 32+, and the production capacity is planned to exceed one million pieces/year, but from the current market application situation, there are not many manufacturing production lines that have really landed and large-scale.
At the end of 2023, when we were doing market research, we found that there was a red sea competition in domestic SiC SBD, and the price competition between major manufacturers was very fierce.
SiC MOS production capacity, the current main demand for SiC MOS products is still concentrated in the automotive market, but the high barriers to entry in the automotive market have not really entered the volume cycle. Therefore, domestic enterprises are facing the choice of 6 inches to 8 inches, and they are still in the exploration stage. Some wafer manufacturing line equipment suppliers told us that at present, more inquiries from domestic companies are concerned about whether the equipment can be compatible with 6/8 inches.
Although the current domestic wafer line is still in the exploration period in switching to 8 inches, after the future market demand increases, China also has the strength to accelerate the iteration to the 8-inch market.
4 domestic 8-inch substrates to accelerate to the sea
In recent years, domestic silicon carbide substrate projects have been frequent, and the competition in the 6-inch market has been very crowded. An industry insider revealed to us: "On the 6-inch track, the barriers to entering the supply chain of domestic second- and third-echelon substrate enterprises are currently high, and most customers will hardly choose to change suppliers when there is no capacity and quality risk in the supply." However, the 8-inch competition has just kicked off, and the second and third echelon enterprises are actively expanding the sample delivery channels, docking the needs of overseas enterprises, and seizing the verification cycle of 8-inch products. ”
We have also learned from the channels of some overseas power semiconductor manufacturers that domestic 8-inch substrates are very competitive in terms of sample product quality, capacity guarantee commitment and price, and overseas interest in using domestic substrate samples for verification is also high. In the future, domestic substrate materials are expected to gain a larger market share in overseas companies.
Imagine, with the improvement of the maturity of the domestic substrate industry chain and the gradual strengthening of cost competitive advantage, after the establishment of overseas supply chains, it will also become possible for domestic substrate enterprises to set up offices or factories overseas.
Source: Silicon Carbide Core Observation
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