In a new collaboration designed to accelerate gallium nitride (GaN) power device deployment, Onsemi and Innoscience have signed a memorandum of understanding for new GaN products for industrial, automotive, telecom infrastructure, consumer and AI data centers.
Under the deal, the companies will start developing 40 V to 200 V GaN power devices to broaden customer adoption. GaN is seen as a technology that will enable higher switching speeds, smaller form factors and lower energy losses.
The companies said GaN adoption has been slowed in the low and medium-voltage segment. The goal is to bring high-volume, global deployment of GaN devices for a variety of applications like:
- DC-DC converters
- Motor drives for robotics, solar microinverters and optimizers
- DC-DC and point-of-load converters
- Power supplies, adaptors, DC-DC converters, motor drives, audio, light e-mobility, power tools and robotics
- Intermediate bus converters, DC-DC converters, battery backup units
“As power demands rise across every sector, GaN offers higher efficiency, smaller size, and lower energy losses compared to other materials,” said Antoine Jalabert, VP of corporate strategy at Onsemi. “Until now, in the low and medium voltage segments, cost and supply constraints have limited its widespread adoption. Through a collaboration with Innoscience, we expect to be able to access the industry’s largest GaN production footprint and quickly scale our GaN offerings for customers worldwide to enable broader adoption in mainstream power applications."
TSMC exit
The move comes as TSMC, the largest chipmaker and foundry, plans to exit the GaN semiconductor segment citing its low-margin, low-volume business was not in its strategic future.
Shortly after the news that TSMC was planning to end its wafer foundry services for GaN by 2027, Infineon Technologies — a maker of silicon, silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride chips — said it will ramp up its efforts to scale up its GaN production on 300 mm wafers. It plans to have the first customer samples of these devices before the end of 2025.
Other GaN providers have upped their deployment and manufacturing plans of the technology including:
- Texas Instruments
- NXP Semiconductors
- United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC)
- Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (PSMC)
