Shenzhen will unveil a national innovation centre for so-called third-generation semiconductors at the city’s annual hi-tech fair on Friday, as China’s southern tech hub looks to bolster its role in the country’s self-sufficiency push.
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The Shenzhen Comprehensive Platform of the National Third-Generation Semiconductor Technology Innovation Centre is expected to support the research and development, design and prototype production for silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) materials and devices, according to an announcement on the website of the China Hi-tech Fair.
GaN and SiC are third-generation semiconductor materials that offer advantages such as higher energy efficiency, while allowing for reduced size compared with traditional silicon-based chips. These chips have found applications in sectors such as electric vehicles.
The innovation centre will set up an 8-inch wafer fabrication facility for pilot scale work, which will cover process steps from substrates and epitaxy to reliability verification for chips used in power applications, according to the announcement.
It will also feature an analysis and testing centre for power semiconductors, as well as an engineering service platform that is self-supporting.
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