Texas Instruments expands internal manufacturing for gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors, quadrupling capacity

Rhea-AI Summary

Texas Instruments (TXN) has started production of gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors at its Aizu, Japan factory, quadrupling its internal GaN manufacturing capacity alongside its Dallas facility. The company has qualified its 200mm GaN technology for mass production, advancing towards its goal of manufacturing more than 95% of chips internally by 2030. TI offers the industry's widest portfolio of integrated GaN-based power semiconductors, which provide superior power density and energy efficiency for applications like laptop adapters and HVAC systems. The company has also successfully piloted GaN manufacturing on 300mm wafers, positioning itself for future scaling.

Positive

• Quadrupling of GaN manufacturing capacity through Japan facility expansion
• Successfully qualified 200mm GaN technology for mass production
• Progress toward 95% internal manufacturing goal by 2030
• Successful pilot of 300mm wafer GaN manufacturing process
• Demonstrated reliability with over 80 million hours of testing

Negative

• None.

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS:

• TI adds GaN manufacturing in Japan, quadrupling its internal GaN manufacturing capacity between its factories in the United States and Japan.
• TI's GaN-based semiconductors are in production and available now.
• TI enables the most energy-efficient, reliable and power-dense end products with the widest portfolio of integrated GaN-based power semiconductors.
• TI has successfully piloted the development of GaN manufacturing on 300mm wafers.

DALLAS and AIZU, Japan, Oct. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments (TI) (Nasdaq: TXN) today announced it has begun production of gallium nitride (GaN)-based power semiconductors at its factory in Aizu, Japan. Coupled with its existing GaN manufacturing in Dallas, Texas, TI will now internally manufacture four times more GaN-based power semiconductors, as Aizu ramps to production.

"Building on more than a decade of expertise in GaN chip design and manufacturing, we have successfully qualified our 200mm GaN technology – the most scalable and cost-competitive way to manufacture GaN today – to start mass production in Aizu," said Mohammad Yunus, TI's senior vice president of Technology and Manufacturing. "This milestone enables us to manufacture more of our GaN chips internally as we grow our internal manufacturing to more than 95% by 2030, while also sourcing from multiple TI locations, ensuring a reliable supply of our entire GaN portfolio of high-power, energy-efficient semiconductors."

The power of GaN technology
An alternative to silicon, GaN is a semiconductor material that offers benefits in energy-efficiency, switching speed, power solution size and weight, overall system cost, and performance under high temperatures and high-voltage conditions. GaN chips provide more power density, or power in smaller spaces, enabling applications such as power adapters for laptops and mobile phones, or smaller, more energy-efficient motors for heating and air conditioning systems and home appliances.

Today, TI offers the widest portfolio of integrated GaN-based power semiconductors, ranging from low- to high-voltage, to enable the most energy-efficient, reliable and power-dense electronics.

"With GaN, TI can deliver more power, more efficiently in a compact space, which is the primary market need driving innovation for many of our customers," said Kannan Soundarapandian, vice president of High-Voltage Power at TI. "As designers of systems such as server power, solar energy generation and AC/DC adapters face challenges to reduce power consumption and enhance energy efficiency, they are increasingly demanding a reliable supply of TI's high-performance GaN-based chips. TI's product portfolio of integrated GaN power stages enables customers to achieve higher power density, improved ease of use and lower system cost."

Further, with the company's proprietary GaN-on-silicon process, more than 80 million hours of reliability testing, and integrated protection features, TI GaN chips are designed to keep high-voltage systems safe.

Most advanced GaN manufacturing technology available today
Using the most advanced equipment available for GaN chip manufacturing today, TI's new capacity enables increased product performance and manufacturing process efficiency, as well as a cost advantage.

Also, the more advanced, efficient tools used in TI's expanded GaN manufacturing can produce smaller chips, packing even more power. This design innovation can be manufactured using less water, energy and raw materials, and end products that use GaN chips enjoy these same environmental benefits.

Scaled for future advances
The performance benefits of TI's added GaN manufacturing also enable the company to scale its GaN chips to higher voltages, starting with 900V and increasing to higher voltages over time, furthering power-efficiency and size innovations for applications like robotics, renewable energy and server power supplies.

In addition, TI's expanded investment includes a successful pilot earlier this year for development of GaN manufacturing processes on 300mm wafers. Further, TI's expanded GaN manufacturing processes are fully transferable to 300mm technology, positioning the company to readily scale to customer needs and move to 300mm in the future.

Committed to responsible, sustainable manufacturing
Expanding supply and innovation in GaN technology is the latest example of TI's commitment to responsible, sustainable manufacturing. TI has committed to use 100% renewable electricity in its U.S. operations by 2027, and worldwide by 2030.

Learn more about GaN and TI manufacturing:

• TI's GaN technology
• Manufacturing at TI
• TI's commitment to environmental sustainability

About Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (Nasdaq: TXN) is a global semiconductor company that designs, manufactures and sells analog and embedded processing chips for markets such as industrial, automotive, personal electronics, communications equipment and enterprise systems. At our core, we have a passion to create a better world by making electronics more affordable through semiconductors. This passion is alive today as each generation of innovation builds upon the last to make our technology more reliable, more affordable and lower power, making it possible for semiconductors to go into electronics everywhere. Learn more at TI.com.

 

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SOURCE Texas Instruments

FAQ

What is TXN's new GaN manufacturing capacity expansion?

Texas Instruments has quadrupled its GaN manufacturing capacity by adding production at its Aizu, Japan facility alongside its existing Dallas, Texas operations.

When will TXN achieve 95% internal manufacturing?

Texas Instruments aims to grow its internal manufacturing to more than 95% by 2030.

What applications use TXN's GaN semiconductors?

TXN's GaN semiconductors are used in power adapters for laptops and mobile phones, HVAC systems, home appliances, robotics, renewable energy, and server power supplies.

What wafer size is TXN using for GaN production?

TXN is currently using 200mm wafer technology for GaN production and has successfully piloted 300mm wafer manufacturing processes.