ROHM and Toshiba agree to collaborate in manufacturing power devices

ROHM and Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage will respectively make intensive investments in silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si) power devices, effectively enhance their supply capabilities, and complementally utilise other party’s production capacity.

Power devices are essential components for supplying and managing power supply in all kinds of electronic equipment, and for achieving a carbon-free, carbon-neutral society. Current demand is expected to see continued growth. In automotive applications, development of more efficient, smaller, and lighter electric powertrains has advanced alongside the rapid expansion in vehicle electrification. In industrial applications, stable supply of power devices and improved characteristics are widely required to support increasing automation and higher efficiency requirements.

Against this backdrop, ROHM has formulated a management vision: “We focus on power and analog solutions and solve social problems by contributing to our customers’ needs for energy savings and miniaturisation of their products,” and accelerates its efforts for a carbon-free.

SiC power devices are the keys to energy savings. Since the world's first mass production of SiC MOSFETs, ROHM has been constantly developing industry-leading technologies. Among these are ROHM’s latest 4th Generation SiC MOSFETs that will be adopted for numerous electric vehicles and industrial equipment.

As one of its priority projects, ROHM is working on SiC business, which contains aggressive and continuous investment to increase the production capacity of SiC and meet strong demand growth. Toshiba Group, with its long-standing Basic Commitment “Committed to People, Committed to the Future,” aims to advance the achievement of carbon neutrality and a circular economy. Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage has for decades supplied Si power devices, mainly for automotive and industrial markets, that have helped to secure energy saving solutions and equipment miniaturisation.

The company started production on a 300mm wafer line last year and is accelerating investment to enhance production capacity and meet strong demand growth. It is also advancing development of a wider lineup of SiC power devices, especially for automotive and power transmission and distribution applications, taking full advantage of the expertise it has cultivated in railway vehicle applications. ROHM has already announced its participation in the privatisation of Toshiba, but this investment did not serve as the starting point for manufacturing collaboration between the two companies.

Under intensifying international competition in the semiconductor industry, ROHM and Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage have been considering collaboration in the power device business for some time, and that resulted in the joint application. ROHM and Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage will collaborate in manufacturing power devices, through intensive investments in SiC and Si power devices, respectively, toward enhancing both companies’ international competitiveness. The companies will also seek to contribute to strengthening the resilience of semiconductor supply chains in Japan.

Outline of the supply enhancement plan

Company names: ROHM Co., Ltd. and LAPIS Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation and Kaga Toshiba Electronics Corporation

Total investment amount: JPY388.3 billion:

• ROHM and LAPIS: JPY289.2 billion
• Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage and Kaga Toshiba: JPY99.1 billion

Maximum subsidy: JPY129.4 billion: 1/3 of the total investment amount

Production sites: LAPIS Semiconductor Miyazaki Plant No.2:

• SiC power devices and SiC wafers

Kaga Toshiba: Si power devices

Scope: Enhanced production capacity in Japan for SiC and Si power devices and SiC wafers