Several Chinese firms involved in the domestic silicon carbide (SiC) industry supply chain have warned of net losses in 2022.

Under the trend of smart home China's home appliance brands are seeking diversified development. Brands like Haier, Midea, and Gree have been planning for the microcontroller unit (MCU) sector, either by establishing subsidiaries or investing in Chinese chip companies. Their goal is to reduce the cost of chip imports and seize the smart home market.

Taiwan's IC test interface specialists in the supply chain of MediaTek are experiencing a slightly weaker than the past traditional off-season in the first quarter of 2023, as the mobile SoC vendor continues to adjust its inventory in line with similar corrections at downstream system makers, according to industry sources.

MLCC shipments for consumer applications have shown signs of rebounding since mid-January, and suppliers are expected to see their inventory fall to regular levels in the second quarter of the year from the current status of around three months, according to industry sources.

Silicon carbide (SiC) substrate prices in China reportedly have stopped sliding as a result in rebounding demand, according to sources from third-generation semiconductor suppliers.

The IC packaging materials sector will definitely hit rock bottom in the first quarter of 2023, but will then recover steadily in the rest of year, according to Chang Wah Electromaterials (CWE) chairman Canon Huang.

GlobalWafers recently disclosed that it would execute a letter of intent with Crystalwise Technology to purchase 100% of Shanghai Sawyer Shenkai Technology Material (SSKT) for up to CNY 100 million (US$14.8 million), through its China-based subsidiary Sino Silicon Technology (SST).

ABF substrates shortage is easing as demand weakens from major US CPU/GPU vendors who have sharply slashed orders amid inventory pressure, according to sources from the OSAT sector.

ABF substrate prices are poised to drop in the first quarter of 2023, as makers see their supply loosened, according to industry sources.

Taiwan-based LandMark Optoelectronics, which specializes in GaAs and InP epi-wafers for optical communications, expects to post another on-year revenue increase in 2023, when the company will start shipping 800G silicon photonics components.

The worst moment for the passive components industry has passed and suppliers are expected to see signs of market recovery in the second quarter of the year, with automotive applications, in particular, to provide major growth momentum for suppliers, according to supply chain sources.

With Texas Instruments (TI) seeing its chip inventories swell, Taiwan-based power management IC (PMIC) suppliers have become more cautious about their sales prospects for the first half of 2023, according to industry sources.

Shanghai-based LiDAR startup Hesai Technology is looking to raise an estimated US$150 million via a US IPO, according to industry sources.

In the face of still-sluggish demand for consumer electronics, China-based CMOS image sensor (CIS) manufacturers are turning their attention to the automotive sector, according to industry sources.

PCB and IC substrate suppliers expect sales for 2023 to bottom in the first quarter, with customers' order pull-in momentum to start picking up in the second quarter, according to industry sources.

Onsemi has signed a strategic agreement with German automaker Volkswagen (VW) to provide modules and semiconductors that enable a complete electric vehicle (EV) traction inverter solution for VW's next-generation platform family, according to the US auto chipmaker. The semiconductors are part of an overall system optimization and provide a solution that will support the front and rear traction inverters in the VW models.

Taiwan's passive components makers including Yageo and Thinking Electronic Industrial are tapping deeper into the segment of sensors to explore huge business potentials for automotive, industrial control, healthcare and consumer electronics applications, according to industry sources.

A number of China semiconductor firms are keen to invest in a Chinese startup foundry that is dedicated to developing FD-SOI (fully depleted silicon on insulator) process technology, which is increasingly regarded as a feasible development path for Chinese semiconductor players amid US trade sanctions hobbling their development of advanced FinFET process technology, according to industry sources.

A slowdown in demand for ABF substrates starting in the second half of 2022 is expected to continue in 2023, likely to turn the supply crunch seen in the past few years into a market equilibrium this year. However, ABF substrate's long-term market prospects will remain bright, according to industry sources.

Bipolar high-voltage devices based on silicon carbide (SiC) have been earmarked as the next big step in the development of more efficient power systems. The efficiency of these devices is largely dependent on minimizing the impact of various recombination processes happening within them, including a process called Auger recombination. Now, scientists from Nagoya Institute of Technology have revealed the factors influencing Auger recombination, thereby paving the way toward the development of more efficient bipolar devices.

Inductor and passive component maker Tai-Tech Advanced Electronics has said it expects to see some signs of demand recovery in the second quarter of 2023, with solid peak seasonal sales coming in the year's second half.

China-based Will Semiconductor (WillSemi), the parent company of OmniVision, has warned of an enormous inventory impairment loss resulting in a profit decline of as much as 80% in 2022.

Taiwan-based CCL maker Elite Material (EMC) announced that the company's plant in northern Taiwan was hit by fire on the night of January 15, according to a company post on MOPS.

Taiwan's power components makers are teaming up with IC design houses or large business groups to develop complementary products and share resources, sales channels and supply chains, so as to tap deeper into the sector of compound semiconductors for automotive applications, according to supply chain sources.

Suppliers of copper-clad laminates (CCL), flexible CCL, and other PCB materials expect customer demand to rebound after the second quarter of 2023, according to industry sources.