STMicroelectronics and Innoscience have announced a strategic partnership in GaN (Gallium Nitride) power products, aiming to transform and elevate the GaN market to new heights by leveraging the mutual strengths in technology and manufacturing. Under this agreement, STMicroelectronics will gain access to Innoscience’s front-end capacity in China for sourcing GaN wafers, while Innoscience will utilize STMicroelectronics’ front-end services to fabricate GaN wafers outside of China.
This collaboration creates a win-win scenario—enhancing both companies’ GaN product offerings, strengthening supply chain resilience, and providing greater flexibility in competitive markets. Additionally, STMicroelectronics will expand its market coverage on a global scale.
ST and Innoscience
STMicroelectronics acted as one of the cornerstone investors during Innoscience’s IPO, committing $50 million and acquiring approximately 1.43% of the company’s share capital. STMicroelectronics is already actively engaged in GaN development, and the new agreement is expected to accelerate these efforts significantly. The synergy between GaN and SiC will further strengthen STMicroelectronics’ position in emerging, environmentally conscious applications. In this context, the alliance with Innoscience plays a pivotal role in reinforcing the company’s future status as one of the world’s leading suppliers of wide-bandgap semiconductor devices.
Innoscience is headquartered in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province and operates two advanced 200-mm GaN-on-Silicon fabrication facilities in Zhuhai and Suzhou, China. These state-of-the-art fabs, staffed by highly skilled professionals, currently produce approximately 12,000 wafers per month, with plans to scale up to over 70,000 wafers per month. The company designs, develops, and manufactures a diverse range of GaN devices with voltage ratings from 30V to 900V, also in bi-directional configuration, serving industries such as consumer electronics, data centers, automotive electronics, renewable energy, and industrial applications.
GaN Technology
Gallium nitride (GaN), a wide bandgap semiconductor alongside silicon carbide (SiC) is emerging as a game-changer across multiple industries, because of the increasing demand for energy-efficient, high-performance power systems. Thanks to its superior electrical properties over silicon, GaN enables higher efficiency, greater power density, and improved performance in various sectors, positioning it as a key technology for the future of energy conversion and management.
Gallium Nitride (GaN) is a wide-bandgap semiconductor with a bandgap of 3.4 eV, significantly higher than silicon’s 1.1 eV. This characteristic enables GaN to operate at higher voltages, temperatures, and frequencies while minimizing heat dissipation. With superior thermal conductivity, GaN can sustain high temperatures without significant performance degradation, making it suitable for demanding environments. The efficiency gains of GaN translate into more compact and lightweight power electronics, a crucial advantage for modern applications.
GaN is widely adopted across multiple industries. In data centers and computing, it reduces power consumption and heat generation, supporting AI-driven infrastructure. GaN enhances power conversion in battery systems, onboard chargers, and DC-DC converters in automotive and electric vehicles, improving vehicle range and charging efficiency. It also plays a vital role in LiDAR systems for autonomous driving.
Renewable energy applications benefit from GaN-based inverters and power converters, optimizing solar and wind energy conversion. In consumer electronics, GaN enables fast-charging adapters and compact, high-performance devices. Industrial and aerospace sectors leverage GaN’s efficiency and durability for motor drives, avionics, and space applications, where performance and reliability are critical.
Marco Cassis, President of Analog, Power & Discretes, MEMS, and Sensors at STMicroelectronics, emphasized that this partnership will accelerate the company’s roadmap, complementing its existing leadership in silicon and SiC power technologies. Likewise, Dr. Weiwei Luo, Chairman and Co-founder of Innoscience, stated that by joining forces, both companies will drive broader and faster adoption of GaN technology in the market.
Source: powerelectronicsnews.com