Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, October 19, according to South Korean media ETNews, Samsung Electronics has formed a new silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor team, and has appointed on Semiconductor former director Stephen Hong as vice president, responsible for supervising related business.

Hong Xijun is an expert in power semiconductors with about 25 years of experience in large global companies such as Infineon, Xiantong and on Semet. After joining Samsung, he led the work.

Hong Xijun is responsible for setting up and leading this SiC commercialization team, while actively working with Korea's power semiconductor industry ecosystem and academic institutions to conduct market and commercial feasibility studies. It is worth noting that Samsung also set up a relevant business team ahead of time before entering the GaN (gallium nitride) business.

Samsung Electronics has begun comprehensive preparations for the GaN power semiconductor business. Samsung's decision to buy Aixtron's latest MOCVD devices, dedicated to processing GaN and SiC wafers, highlights Samsung's commitment to this effort, with an investment expected to be at least 7-800 billion won.

Although Samsung's third-generation semiconductor foundry business is expected to start in 2025, it is still in the research and sample stage and needs to invest heavily in equipment to support future mass production.

According to TrendForce's analysis, the global market for SiC power devices is expected to reach US $2.28 billion in 2023 (CTOnews.com Note: currently about RMB 16.69 billion), an increase of 41.4 per cent year-on-year. It is expected to expand to $5.33 billion (currently about 39.016 billion yuan) by 2026.

According to the latest research from TrendForce, it is expected that the utilization of Samsung's 8-inch wafer manufacturing plants may fall to 50 per cent by 2024. The decline is mainly due to reduced global demand for semiconductors, coupled with geopolitical factors, and the harsh business environment has affected Samsung's orders.

As demand for SiC and GaN power semiconductors continues to rise and Samsung's silicon wafer business faces challenges, the company, along with competitors such as DB Hitek and Key Foundry, is preparing to launch 8-inch GaN foundry services. This strategic initiative is expected to be achieved between 2025 and 2026.

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