HKT Technology is ready to enter 6-inch SiC crystal growth production and is eyeing expansion to 8-inch SiC crystal growth in the future, according to the company.
Chih-yung Hsiung, the founder of HKT, has been looking for partners in Taiwan, Singapore and Europe. HKT has reached a consensus with a major automotive component supplier for collaboration.
Hsiung noted that he founded HKT with the specific purpose of extending SiC to tier-1 car components suppliers, and now there is good potential from the electric vehicle (EV) sector.
Many startups are eyeing the SiC market, but many of them are still in the red.
Hsiung said HKT has already achieved results in 6-inch trial production at EEMCO, and the company is making an initial investment of NT$500 million (US$16.47 million) for an operation that may need 10-15 crystal growth furnaces. If yield rates can be maintained at 50%, the company will be able to break even, Hsiung said.
Asked if it's too late for Taiwan to start 6-inch production, Hsiung said explosive growth for SiC should have started in 2020, but there has been a delay till now. He said that until demand for 8-inch SiC crystals picks up -- supposedly beginning from 2027 -- the market will be dominated by 6-inch ones.
Article translated by Rodney Chan
