Micro Silicon Electronics, a power IC testing specialist, is targeting further collaboration with Taiwan-based chipmakers and foreign IDMs on gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor production, according to the Taiwanese company.
Micro Silicon, as a major Taiwan-based testing services provider for power management IC (PMIC), MOSFET, and GaN semiconductors, has already recovered from the 2023 lows, and it expects stable growth in 2024, according to company chairman BT Chang.
The company hopes that long-term collaboration with Taiwanese customers and international IDMs can help it expand its presence in segments that offer high gross profit margins, Chang said.
Chang noted that Taiwanese makers are relatively weak in end-market applications as they trail US, European, and Japanese IDMs for IGBT power devices and are behind Chinese suppliers in lithium batteries, which support the rapid growth of the electric vehicle (EV) market.
Taiwan still stands a chance in the compound semiconductor sector, where it can leverage its tech prowess and product quality to gain a significant presence in the high-frequency, high-current, and high-voltage device segments.
Major international suppliers of GaN devices have already teamed up with Taiwan's foundry partners, and Micro Silicon is now an important part of Taiwan's GaN ecosystem. Chang disclosed that the company entered the GaN segment 10 years ago, investing substantially in equipment as required by customers. The GaN segment generated no sales in the first seven years, but the investments in the segment are now paying off.
Micro Silicon's production expansion will focus mainly on GaN, followed by PMIC. For SiC, Micro Silicon has already started working with European and Japanese IDMs.
Article translated by Rodney Chan
