DB HiTek, an 8-inch foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) specialist corporations, said on the 11th that it has completed process development for a next-generation power semiconductor, the 650V E-Mode GaN HEMT (enhancement-mode gallium nitride high electron mobility transistor). With this, DB HiTek will provide a GaN-only MPW (multi-project wafer) that allows customers to pilot-produce products by the end of next month.
Semiconductors made of GaN material are more resistant to high voltage, high frequency, and high temperature than conventional Si (silicon)-based semiconductors and have higher power efficiency, drawing attention along with SiC (silicon carbide) as next-generation power semiconductors. In particular, demand is surging in fields such as electric vehicles, AI (artificial intelligence) data centers, fast charging, 5G, and robots. According to market research firm Yole Développement, the GaN market is expected to grow by about 40% annually, from $530 million (about 730 billion won) this year to $2.013 billion (about 2.8 trillion won) in 2029.
DB HiTek said the product it developed features high-speed switching and improved stability and is highly applicable to electric-vehicle chargers, power converters for data centers, and the 5G communications sector.
DB HiTek has designated compound semiconductors such as GaN and SiC as next-generation businesses and has been conducting process development since 2022, when the market was in its early stages. A DB HiTek representative said, "We have already been recognized for our global technological competitiveness in Si-based power semiconductors, including developing 0.18um BCDMOS (bipolar-CMOS-DMOS) for the first time in the industry," and added, "We expect competitiveness to increase by adding the GaN process."
Starting with this process development, DB HiTek plans to sequentially develop a 200V GaN process and a 650V GaN process, which can be designed in IC (integrated circuit) form, by the end of 2026. It then plans to expand the process to a wider voltage range, considering market conditions and customer demand.
In addition, DB HiTek is pushing to expand the clean room at its Sangwoo Campus in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province. The new clean room is sized to add capacity of about 35,000 8-inch wafers per month, and will produce BCDMOS, SiC, and more, including GaN. Once the expansion is completed, DB HiTek's production capacity will increase 23% from the current 154,000 wafers to 190,000.