Compound semiconductors maker Episil Technologies Inc (漢磊科技) yesterday said it aims to work with Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) to expand production of 8-inch silicon carbide wafers to an economic scale and strive to gain orders from global customers such as Japan’s Renesas Electronics Corp and Denso Corp.
The two firms on Tuesday signed an agreement to produce 8-inch silicon carbide wafers at a 6-inch fab operated by Episil. Vanguard also agreed to acquire a 13 percent stake in Episil for NT$2.48 billion (US$77.25 million).
Six-inch wafers remain a mainstream product in the silicon carbide market, but 8-inch wafers are expected to catch up in the next one to two years, Episil chairman Shyu Jann-hwa (徐建華) told investors.
Photo: CNA
The company’s move follows the step of major chipmakers such as Infineon Technology AG of Germany, which has opened a new 8-inch fab in Malaysia to produce silicon carbide wafers.
“We are optimistic about long-term demand for silicon carbide, although there is an oversupply, which we consider as a short-term issue,” Shyu said.
“With the use of silicon carbide gradually spreading from electric vehicles to home appliances, industrial devices and artificial intelligence data centers, it creates good business opportunities for foundry companies,” Shyu added.
Episil has failed to obtain orders from several global integrated-device manufacturers (IDM) as it lacks capacity, Shyu said.
The collaboration with Vanguard would help overcome this problem, he said, adding that the move is cost-efficient compared with building a new fab.
The 8-inch fab would operate a pilot line with a monthly capacity of 1,500 wafers before expanding to about 10,000 wafers over the next few years depending on customer demand, he added.
Episil is targeting Japanese IDMs such as Renesas Electronics, Denso and Toshiba Corp as potential customers, the company said.
Episil’s revenue in the first half of the year dropped 20.23 percent year-on-year to NT$2.94 billion as customers struggled with inventory issues, with silicon-based revenue tumbling 32 percent due to sagging demand from automotive and consumer electronics segments.
The company recorded a NT$212.28 million loss in the first half of the year, compared with a net profit of NT$91.94 million during the same period last year.
Episil swung into a loss of NT$0.64 per share in the first 6 months of this year, from earnings of NT$0.28 per share a year ago.
The company’s factory utilization rate would remain lower than 50 percent in the second half of this year, which would continue weighing on its gross margin because of higher depreciation costs from idled equipment, it said.
Gross margin dropped to 0.15 percent in the first half from 12.66 percent a year earlier.
The company expects business to improve in the fourth quarter thanks to stabilizing wafer pricing and an increase in customer demand, it said.
Wafer prices have fallen more than 30 percent since the beginning of this year, it added.
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which Micron acquired from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion, is expected to make a sizeable capacity contribution to the company from fiscal 2028, the company said in a statement. It would be an extended production site of Micron’s large-scale manufacturing hub in Taichung, the company said. As the global semiconductor industry is racing to reach US$1 trillion
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
ABOVE LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Ministry of Economic Affairs is prepared if LNG supply is disrupted, with more than the legal requirement of 11 days of inventory Taiwan has largely secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies through May and arranged about half of June’s supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. Since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, Taiwan’s LNG inventories have remained more than 12 days, exceeding the legal requirement of 11 days, indicating no major supply concerns for domestic gas and electricity, Kung said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. The ministry aims to increase the figure to 14 days by the end of next year, he said. While one or two LNG or crude oil shipments for May
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS