STMicroelectronics and TSMC Collaborate to Accelerate Market Adoption of Gallium Nitride-Based Products

-- Accelerates the development and delivery of advanced power GaN solutions 
      to market 
 
   -- Leverages Automotive-market expertise of ST and the foundry leadership of 
      TSMC 
 
   -- Improves wide bandgap efficiency for better energy efficiency in power 
      conversion applications 
 
 
   Geneva, Switzerland and Hsinchu, Taiwan R.O.C., February 20, 2020 -- 
STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), a global semiconductor leader serving 
customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, and TSMC 
(TWSE:2330, NYSE: TSM), the world's largest dedicated semiconductor 
foundry, are collaborating to accelerate the development of Gallium 
Nitride (GaN) process technology and the supply of both discrete and 
integrated GaN devices to market. Through this collaboration, ST's 
innovative and strategic GaN products will be manufactured using TSMC's 
leading GaN process technology. 
 
   GaN is a wide bandgap semiconductor material which offers significant 
benefits over traditional Silicon-based semiconductors for power 
applications. These benefits include greater energy efficiency at higher 
power, leading to a substantial reduction in parasitic power losses. GaN 
technology also allows the design of more compact devices for better 
form factors. Additionally, GaN-based devices switch at speeds as much 
as 10X faster than Silicon-based devices while operating at higher peak 
temperatures. These robust and intrinsic material characteristics make 
GaN ideally suited for broad-based adoption in evolving automotive, 
industrial, telecom, and specific consumer applications across both the 
100V and the 650V clusters. 
 
   Specifically, Power GaN and GaN IC technology-based products will enable 
ST to provide solutions for medium and high-power applications with 
better efficiency compared to silicon technologies on the same 
topologies, including automotive converters and chargers for hybrid and 
electric vehicles. Power GaN and GaN IC technologies will help 
accelerate the megatrend of the electrification of consumer and 
commercial vehicles. 
 
   "As a leader in both wide bandgap semiconductor technology and in power 
semiconductors for the demanding automotive and industrial markets, ST 
sees significant opportunity in accelerating the development and 
delivery of GaN process technology and bringing power GaN and GaN IC 
products to the market. TSMC is a trusted foundry partner that can 
uniquely meet the challenging reliability and roadmap evolution 
requirements of ST's target customers," said Marco Monti, President of 
STMicroelectronics' Automotive and Discrete Group. "This cooperation 
complements our existing activities on power GaN undertaken at our site 
in Tours, France and with CEA-Leti. GaN represents the next major 
innovation in Power and Smart Power electronics, as well in process 
technology". 
 
   "We look forward to collaborating with ST and bring the applications of 
GaN power-electronics to Industrial and Automotive Power Conversion," 
said Dr. Kevin Zhang, Vice President of Business Development at TSMC. 
"TSMC's leading GaN manufacturing expertise, combined with 
STMicroelectronics' product design and automotive-grade qualification 
capabilities, will deliver great energy efficiency improvement for 
industrial and automotive power conversion applications that are more 
eco-friendly and help accelerate the electrification of vehicles." 
 
   ST expects the delivery of first samples of power GaN discrete devices 
to its key customers later this year, followed by GaN IC products within 
a few months. 
 
   About STMicroelectronics 
 
   ST is a global semiconductor leader delivering intelligent and 
energy-efficient products and solutions that power the electronics at 
the heart of everyday life. ST's products are found everywhere today, 
and together with our customers, we are enabling smarter driving and 
smarter factories, cities and homes, along with the next generation of 
mobile and Internet of Things devices. 
 
   By getting more from technology to get more from life, ST stands for 
life.augmented. 
 
   In 2019, the Company's net revenues were $9.56 billion, serving more 
than 100,000 customers worldwide. Further information can be found at 
https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=4FhrbZwDKBu5C9FwnBeVRzFcPPt_Uhy1By6AFT_1OZOAXw4FIQoo4lpH29tN8c1i9I5U26OozKU-WxtF1TVW5g== 
www.st.com. 
 
   About TSMC 
 
   TSMC pioneered the pure-play foundry business model when it was founded 
in 1987, and has been the world's largest dedicated semiconductor 
foundry ever since. The company supports a thriving ecosystem of global 
customers and partners with the industry's leading process technology 
and portfolio of design enablement solutions to unleash innovation for 
the global semiconductor industry. 
 
   TSMC serves its customers with global capacity of about 13 million 
12-inch equivalent wafers per year in 2020, and provides the broadest 
range of technologies from 2 micron all the way to foundry's most 
advanced processes, which is 7-nanometer today. TSMC is the first 
foundry to provide 7-nanometer production capabilities and the first to 
commercialize Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology in 
delivering customer products to market in high volume. TSMC is 
headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan. 
 
   For more information about TSMC please visit 
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http://www.tsmc.com. 
 
   STMicroelectronics contacts 
 
   Céline Berthier 
 
   Group VP, Investor Relations 
 
   Tel: [phone] 
 
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[e-mail] 
 
   Alexis Breton 
 
   Corporate External Communications 
 
   Tel: + 33 6 59 16 79 08 
 
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[e-mail] 
 
   TSMC Media Contacts 
 
   Nina Kao 
 
   Head of PR Department 
 
   Tel: [phone] ext.7125036 
 
   Mobile: [phone] 
 
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[e-mail] 
 
   Michael Kramer 
 
   PR Department 
 
   Tel: [phone] ext.7125031 
 
   Mobile: [phone] 
 
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[e-mail] 
 
 
 
   Attachment 
 
 
   -- ST TSMC GaN_press release _ FINAL FOR PUBLICATION 
      https://ml-eu.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/c6bcbc5f-6fd8-4041-81b2-894eed76ac2a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 20, 2020 04:00 ET (09:00 GMT)