Infineon opens first phase of largest SiC power semiconductor fab in Malaysia

Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany has officially opened the first phase of a new 200mm-wafer silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor fab at its Kulim 3 site in Malaysia. Malaysian Prime Minister The Right Honourable Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Chief Minister of the state of Kedah The Right Honourable Dato’ Seri Haji Muhammad Sanusi Haji Mohd Nor joined Infineon’s CEO Jochen Hanebeck to symbolically launch production.

Infineon’s CEO Jochen Hanebeck, Malaysian Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Chief Minister of the state of Kedah YAB Dato’ Seri Haji Muhammad Sanusi Haji Mohd symbolically launch production of phase one of Infineon’s 200mm SiC Power Fab. Witnessing the event are: Ng Kok Tiong, senior VP & managing director, Infineon Kulim; Dr Rutger Wijburg, chief operations officer of Infineon; Yang Berhormat Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade & Industry Malaysia (MITI) and YB Dato' Seri Haji Norizan bin Khazali, Kedah State Chief Secretary (from right to left)

The first phase of the fab, comprising an investment of €2bn and creating 900 jobs, will focus on the production of silicon carbide power semiconductors and will include gallium nitride (GaN) epitaxy.

The second phase, comprising an investment of up to €5bn, will create what is expected to become the world’s largest 200mm SiC power semiconductor fab. Overall, up to 4000 jobs will be created.

“Since the demand for semiconductors will constantly rise, the investment in Kulim is highly attractive to our customers, who are backing it with their prepayments,” says Infineon’s CEO Jochen Hanebeck. “It also increases the resilience of the supply chain for critical components needed for the green transition”

Infineon has secured design wins worth about €5bn and has received about €1bn in prepayments from existing and new customers for the ongoing expansion of the Kulim 3 fab. These design wins include six OEMs in the automotive sector as well as customers in the renewable energy and industrial segments.

Kulim 3 will be closely connected to site in Villach, Austria, which is Infineon’s global competence center for power semiconductors. Infineon already increased capacity for SiC and GaN power semiconductors in Villach in 2023. As ‘One Virtual Fab’ for wide-bandgap technologies, both manufacturing sites now share technologies and processes that allow for fast ramping and smooth and highly efficient operation, says Infineon. The project also offers a high grade of resilience and flexibility, ultimately benefitting customers, it adds.

The expansion should benefit from economies of scale already achieved for 200mm manufacturing in Kulim. It will also complement Infineon’s position in silicon, based on 300mm manufacturing in Villach and Dresden. Infineon is hence strengthening its technology across the entire spectrum of power semiconductors, in silicon as well as SiC and GaN. In addition, the investment in wide-bandgap capacity in Kulim strengthens the local ecosystem as part of the growing semiconductor hub Malaysia. Infineon’s operations in Malaysia began in 1973 in Melaka. In 2006, it opened Asia’s first front-end fab in Kulim. The firm currently has more than 16.000 staff in Malaysia.