The 8-inch SiC Wafer Joint Venture Factory Of Anefa Was Officially Launched, Building The First Goose Effect Of China's SiC Industry in The Whole Chain

On February 27, STMicroelectronics (ST) and Sanan Optoelectronics jointly announced that the 8-inch silicon carbide wafer joint venture manufacturing plant established by the two parties in Chongqing (i.e., "STMicroelectronics" Co., Ltd.) is now officially operational.

In June 2023, with the vigorous promotion of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, the Chongqing San'an STMicroelectronics silicon carbide project was signed and settled in Xiyong Microelectronics Park, Chongqing High-tech Zone, Western Science City. According to reports, in addition to the 8-inch silicon carbide (SiC) power device joint venture manufacturing plant AnesFrench Semiconductor Co., Ltd., there is also an 8-inch SiC substrate manufacturing plant (Chongqing Sanan Semiconductor Co., Ltd.) independently operated by San'an, located in the same park, to meet the SiC substrate needs of the joint venture plant.

This milestone marks the milestone of STMicroelectronics and Sanan on their way to achieving local production of 8-inch SiC in China by the end of 2025, which will better meet the growing demand for SiC in China's new energy vehicles, industrial power and energy markets.

Build a local supply of 8-inch SiC to meet local demand

In recent years, driven by the wave of new energy vehicles, the popularity of silicon carbide, which has outstanding technical advantages, has increased significantly. Especially in the Chinese market, due to the sudden rise of the new energy vehicle industry, the demand for SiC is also rising. According to the report, Yole Group, a well-known analyst firm, predicts that the market for power SiC devices will reach nearly $10 billion by 2029, with automotive, mobility, and transportation accounting for nearly $8 billion.

As a pioneer in the industry, ST's strength in SiC is unquestionable. By working with San'an, ST has implemented the Anyi Law in Chongqing to vigorously support the development of China's new energy vehicle industry.

Chongqing is one of the most important industrial centers in China, especially in the automotive sector, and its position in the new energy vehicle market is prominent. At present, Chongqing is in a critical period of industrial transformation and upgrading, and the local government is also aiming to build a "smart manufacturing town" and "smart city", and is committed to becoming an important economic center with national influence, a scientific and technological innovation center and a new highland of reform and opening up. The 8-inch silicon carbide project will bring a leapfrog innovation to the development of Chongqing, and its through-line production will further improve Chongqing's power semiconductor industry chain, help Chongqing form an influential SiC industrial cluster, and bring a "head goose" effect to the national SiC industry chain.

According to reports, the 8-inch silicon carbide (SiC) power device joint venture manufacturing plant jointly established by Sanan Optoelectronics and ST adopts ST's proprietary silicon carbide manufacturing process technology and serves as ST's dedicated foundry to support the needs of its Chinese customers. According to the plan, the total investment of the joint venture plant is expected to be about 23 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion) after full completion, and it will become the first large-scale mass production line of 8-inch automotive-grade silicon carbide power devices in China.

Lin Kechuang, general manager of San'an Optoelectronics and chairman of Anyifa

Since the start of construction in September 2023, the construction of the Anyifa joint venture plant has also progressed steadily according to the original plan in the past year or so: the "light-up" condition will be reached at the end of November 2024, and the breakthrough (through line) will be completed on February 27, 2025. According to the expected plan, the joint venture plant will be put into operation in the fourth quarter of 2025 and is expected to reach production in 2028, which will better meet the needs of China's new energy vehicle industry, industrial power supply and energy applications.

More importantly, its forward-looking layout enables ST to offer local customers in China a choice of SiC devices with better performance and lower prices.

Because of the development reasons, SiC used to be six inches for a long time, but because of the limited number of dies cut in a limited area, the cost of SiC is relatively high. As a result, like silicon devices, the industry has been moving towards large-size wafers in recent years. Eight-inch SiC has become the consensus choice in the industry.

Thanks to more than 25 years of R&D experience in the SiC field, ST created the first 8-inch silicon carbide wafers of very high quality back in 2021 with very few yield-impacting defects and crystal dislocation defects. Compared to a six-inch wafer, an eight-inch manufacturing integrated circuit nearly doubles the effective area, providing 1.8 to 1.9 times the number of working chips. By reducing waste at the edge, suppliers can further reduce the cost of SiC.

With the support of the SiC wafer joint venture manufacturing plant of Anyifa, combined with the Sanan SiC substrate manufacturing plant and the expansion of ST back-end packaging and testing capacity, ST will form a complete localized 8-inch silicon carbide supply chain, which will provide cost-effective SiC products for local manufacturers by reducing production and logistics costs while ensuring high quality standards, and even provide customized solutions for the Chinese market. The formation of an 8-inch silicon carbide industrial chain from substrate-epitaxy-wafer-packaging in China will also help domestic related industries improve the resilience of the supply chain.

For China's new energy industry, which is developing vigorously, ST's SiC joint venture is undoubtedly a huge benefit. As far as ST is concerned, this is really just a microcosm of their presence in China.

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In China, for China, to promote the high-quality development of China's industry

As early as 1984, SGS Microelectronics, the predecessor of ST, came to China and set up its first office in China, becoming one of the first international semiconductor companies to set up a business establishment in China. Since then, ST has gradually realized the strategic deployment of a complete industrial chain in China：

In terms of design, ST has built a local R&D force that can accurately grasp the pulse of the Chinese market, quickly keep up with the pace of development, and work closely with Chinese customers and partners to develop products, solutions and ecosystems to jointly address challenges and opportunities. For example, the acclaimed automotive-grade MCUs and VIPower products are developed locally in China.

In terms of innovation, since 1995, ST has enhanced its design, development and technology capabilities in Asia, and has successively established seven technology innovation centers in Asia focusing on strategic areas such as IoT applications, motor control, automation, smartphones, electric vehicles, power and energy, and artificial intelligence. These technology innovation centers not only complement the company's existing technology innovation centers around the world, but also allow the company to deploy global resources and cutting-edge technologies to develop localized solutions for the increasingly important Chinese customers.

On the manufacturing side, ST also has an extensive footprint. In 1994, ST established ST's first packaging and testing plant in China, Shenzhen SIE Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (STS), in Shenzhen Futian Free Trade Zone. After 30 years of development, Shenzhen SIE has grown into one of ST's largest packaging and testing bases in the world, with more than 110 authorized patents and contributing more than 50% of ST's global back-end production capacity.

At the end of 2024, ST also announced a partnership with Huahong, the second-largest wafer foundry in China, to produce microcontrollers (MCUs) and other products at the 40nm node in China. The move aims to establish an end-to-end manufacturing chain for specific STM32 products in China to meet the majority of the medium-term demand for eNVM 40nm STM32 in the Chinese market.

In addition to manufacturing operations, ST has state-of-the-art laboratories to support the development, failure analysis and research of new packages. After more than 40 years of development, the Chinese market has also lived up to its trust and has become an important part of ST's global business.

In order to achieve sustainable and profitable growth in the Chinese market, ST holds high the banner of "In China, For China" localization strategy, aiming to better embrace customers in the Chinese market and be more competitive with international and local competitors.

Now, under the guidance of the strategy of "Design in China, Innovation in China, Made in China", ST China is advancing the localization process on all fronts, strengthening the company's commitment to grow together with the Chinese market through a series of strategic investments and pragmatic measures.