텍사스 인스트루먼트(TI)가 미국 텍사스주 댈러스에 위치한 기존 GaN 제조 시설에 이어 일본 아이주 팩토리를 본격 가동하며, GaN(갈륨나이트라이드) 전력 반도체의 자체 제조 역량을 4배로 강화했다.
▲Overview of Texas Instruments (TI) Japan Aizu Factory
Japan's Aizu Factory to Begin Full Operation, Expanding Internal Manufacturing to Over 95% by 2030
Texas Instruments (TI) has started full-scale operations at its Aizu factory in Japan, quadrupling its in-house manufacturing capacity for GaN (gallium nitride) power semiconductors.
TI Korea (CEO Park Joong-seo) announced on the 25th that it has started manufacturing GaN (gallium nitride)-based power semiconductors at TI’s Aizu, Japan manufacturing facility.
The Izu fab, which joins TI's existing GaN manufacturing facility in Dallas, Texas, will quadruple TI's manufacturing capacity for its own GaN-based power semiconductors.
“With more than a decade of TI expertise in GaN chip design and manufacturing, we have successfully validated and enabled volume production of the most scalable and cost-competitive 200mm GaN technology in Aizu,” said Mohammad Yunus, senior vice president of technology and manufacturing at TI.
He also said, “This achievement will enable TI to manufacture more GaN chips in-house, increasing its internal manufacturing ratio to more than 95 percent by 2030, and will enable TI to reliably supply its entire GaN portfolio of energy-efficient, high-power semiconductors across multiple fabs.”
GaN replaces silicon Semiconductor materials offer advantages in energy efficiency, switching speed, power solution size and weight, overall system cost, and performance under high temperature and high voltage conditions.
GaN chips support applications such as power adapters for laptops and cellphones that require higher power density or smaller footprints, or smaller, more energy-efficient motors for heating and cooling systems and home appliances.
TI offers the broadest portfolio of integrated GaN-based power semiconductors from low-voltage to high-voltage to enable today's most energy-efficient, reliable and power-dense electronics.
“TI’s GaN technology helps address key market demands for more power in a smaller space, with greater efficiency,” said Kannan Soundarapandian, vice president of TI’s High-Voltage Power business unit.
“As system designers for server power, solar power, AC/DC adapters and more face the challenge of reducing power consumption and improving energy efficiency, demand for a stable supply of TI’s high-performance GaN-based chips is growing,” he added. “TI’s integrated GaN power product portfolio enables customers to achieve higher power density, improved ease of use and lower system cost,” he said.
In particular, TI GaN semiconductors are designed to remain safe in high-voltage systems, based on TI's proprietary GaN-on-silicon process, more than 80 million hours of reliability testing, and integrated protection features.
TI uses the latest cutting-edge GaN chip manufacturing equipment to improve product performance, manufacturing process efficiency, and cost advantages.
Additionally, more advanced and efficient tools used in TI’s expanded GaN manufacturing can pack more power into smaller chips. Such design innovations can also contribute to environmental benefits for end products using GaN chips, as they use less water, energy and raw materials during the manufacturing process.
Additionally, TI’s expanded GaN manufacturing capabilities will enable it to scale GaN chips to higher voltages over time, starting at 900 V, further accelerating power efficiency and size innovations in applications such as robotics, renewable energy and server power supplies.
In addition, TI is expanding its investment by successfully completing a pilot for the development of a GaN manufacturing process on 300mm wafers earlier this year. Furthermore, TI is fully capable of transferring its expanded GaN manufacturing process to 300mm technology, positioning it to easily scale up and transition to 300mm in the future according to customer needs.
Expanding supply and innovation in GaN technology are the latest examples of TI’s commitment to responsible and sustainable manufacturing.
TI has a goal of using 100% renewable electricity in its U.S. operations by 2027 and globally by 2030.