STMicroelectronics builds the world's first one-stop silicon carbide industrial park in Italy

STMicroelectronics builds the world's first one-stop silicon carbide industrial park in Italy

• ST to build a new 8-inch silicon carbide power device and module large-scale manufacturing and packaging and testing integrated base in Catania, Italy

  
  

• This multi-year long-term investment plan is expected to have a total investment of 5 billion euros, including 2 billion euros in funding from the Italian government under the EU Chip Directive

  
  

• The Catania SiC Industrial Park will realize ST's full vertical integration plan for SiC manufacturing, completing the entire production of SiC power devices from chip R&D to manufacturing, from wafer substrates to modules in one park, enabling the electrification process and high-efficiency transformation of automotive and industrial customers

June 6, 2024, China - STMicroelectronics (STMicroelectronics), a world-leading semiconductor company serving multiple electronic applications, announced that it will build a large-scale integrated manufacturing base in Catania, Italy that integrates 8-inch silicon carbide (SiC) power devices and modules manufacturing, packaging, and testing . By integrating the existing silicon carbide substrate manufacturing plant at the same location, STMicroelectronics will build a silicon carbide industrial park to realize the company's vision of fully vertically integrated manufacturing and mass production of silicon carbide in the same park. The establishment of the new silicon carbide industrial park is an important milestone for STMicroelectronics, which will help customers accelerate electrification and improve energy efficiency in areas such as automotive, industrial and cloud infrastructure with the help of silicon carbide.

Jean-Marc Chery, President and CEO of STMicroelectronics, said: "The Catania Silicon Carbide Industrial Park will bring ST fully vertically integrated silicon carbide manufacturing capabilities, making a significant contribution to ST's SiC technology leadership in the automotive and industrial markets for decades to come. The economies of scale and synergies brought by this project will enable us to better leverage our large-scale manufacturing capabilities for technological innovation, helping European and global customers accelerate the electrification transition, seek more energy-efficient solutions, and achieve their low-carbon emission reduction goals."

As the center of STMicroelectronics' global silicon carbide ecosystem, the silicon carbide industrial park will integrate all processes in the manufacturing process, including silicon carbide wafer substrate development, epitaxial growth process, 8-inch wafer manufacturing and module packaging, process research and development, product design, as well as advanced bare chips, power systems, module R&D laboratories and packaging testing. The project will become Europe's first one-stop integrated manufacturing base for mass production of 8-inch silicon carbide, integrating each process of silicon carbide production (substrate, epitaxy, wafer processing and chip packaging and testing). In order to improve chip yield and performance, the project will use 8-inch wafer manufacturing technology.

The project is expected to be put into operation in 2026 and reach full production capacity by 2033. After full completion, the wafer output can reach 15,000 pieces per week. The total investment in the project is expected to be about 5 billion euros, and the Italian government will provide about 2 billion euros in financial support in accordance with the framework of the EU Chip Act. The silicon carbide industrial park will integrate the concept of sustainable development from design, development to operation to ensure that resources such as water and electricity are consumed in a responsible manner.

Additional information

Silicon carbide (“SiC”) is an important composite material (and technology) composed of two elements, silicon and carbon. In the field of power applications, SiC has multiple advantages over traditional silicon materials. The wide bandgap of SiC and its inherent properties, such as better thermal conductivity, faster switching speed and lower power dissipation, make it particularly suitable for the manufacture of high-voltage power devices, especially power devices above 1200V. SiC power devices sold on the market are divided into two categories: SiC MOSFET bare die and full SiC modules. Compared with traditional silicon semiconductors, SiC has higher output current, lower static leakage current and higher energy efficiency, which is particularly suitable for electric vehicles, fast charging infrastructure, renewable energy and various industrial applications (including data centers). However, compared with silicon-based chips, SiC chips are more difficult and more expensive to manufacture, and there are still many challenges to overcome in the industrialization of the manufacturing process.

STMicroelectronics' leading position in the SiC market is based on the company's 25 years of long-term focus and technology research and development and a large number of key patents. Catania has long been an important place for STMicroelectronics' technological innovation, and is the company's largest SiC R&D center and manufacturing activities, contributing to the company's development of more and better SiC products. With the formation of the company's power electronic components ecosystem, including STMicroelectronics' long-term cooperation with the University of Catania and CNR (Italian National Research Council) and a large supplier network, this investment will strengthen the role of Catania's global technology innovation center for SiC technology and create opportunities for further growth in the SiC market.

STMicroelectronics is currently mass-producing its silicon carbide flagship products on two 6-inch wafer production lines in Catania, Italy and Ang Mo Kio, Singapore. The 8-inch silicon carbide joint venture manufacturing plant under construction between STMicroelectronics and Sanan Optoelectronics in Chongqing, China will become the company's third SiC wafer manufacturing center, dedicated to serving the Chinese market. At the same time, STMicroelectronics' back-end factories in Bouskoura, Morocco and Shenzhen, China will provide various packaging tests for the above-mentioned silicon carbide wafer factories, including automotive-grade and large-scale mass-produced silicon carbide products. The silicon carbide substrates are provided by STMicroelectronics' R&D and manufacturing bases in Norrköping, Sweden and Catania, Italy. As STMicroelectronics is accelerating substrate production capacity, most of the company's silicon carbide product-related R&D and design personnel are deployed in these two places.