6-inch silicon carbide: the spark of price war

Silicon carbide is a high-performance semiconductor material widely used in various fields such as electric vehicles, power inverters, and industrial power sources. In the past, the 6-inch silicon carbide wafer market was mainly dominated by European, American, and Japanese companies, with prices typically ranging from $800 to $1000 per wafer. However, with the rise of Chinese companies such as Tianke Heda and Shandong Tianyue, the price of 6-inch silicon carbide substrates has dropped to $400 per piece, almost half or lower than the prices in Europe, America, and Japan. The intensification of this price war has forced global chip manufacturers to make adjustments.

For example, German chip manufacturer X-Fab has stated that in the face of low price competition from Chinese companies, they have had to give up competition in the 6-inch silicon carbide field and instead invest in 8-inch production lines. But this transformation takes time, and European and American companies find it difficult to adapt to this dramatic change in the short term. Cree in the United States has taken a more aggressive approach by deciding to split its silicon carbide manufacturing business and establish a subsidiary, Wolfspeed, to focus on the production of 8-inch silicon carbide wafers. It has also closed its 6-inch manufacturing plant in the United States to avoid direct competition with Chinese companies in this field.

The advantages of China's silicon carbide industry

The reason why Chinese companies can quickly engage in price wars in the 6-inch silicon carbide market is mainly due to the following advantages:

Mature 6-inch long crystal process

Companies such as Tianke Heda and Shandong Tianyue have mastered stable 6-inch silicon carbide crystal growth processes with high yield rates and production costs about 60% lower than 8-inch wafers. This makes 6-inch wafers still advantageous in mass production and the mainstream choice in the market.

Self manufactured equipment reduces costs

One of the key equipment for manufacturing silicon carbide wafers is the crystal growth furnace. China's Northern Huachuang has successfully developed its own crystal growing furnace, with a single equipment price of 2 million US dollars, far lower than the 4 million US dollars of imported similar equipment. In addition, the maintenance and control of domestic equipment are more convenient, further reducing the overall production cost.

Low industrial electricity prices

The continuous high temperature operation of silicon carbide crystal growth furnace requires huge power consumption. The industrial electricity price in China is about 0.08-0.12 US dollars per kilowatt hour, much lower than the 0.25-0.35 US dollars per kilowatt hour in Europe and America. This natural advantage in electricity prices has helped Chinese companies further reduce production costs.

Government policy support

Local governments in China have introduced a series of supportive policies to support the development of semiconductor enterprises. For example, every 10000 pieces of production capacity can receive up to 150 million RMB in financial support, effectively reducing the operating costs of enterprises and accelerating the development of the silicon carbide industry.

Breakthrough in Domestic Chip Manufacturing Equipment

In addition to silicon carbide materials, China's breakthroughs in the field of chip manufacturing equipment cannot be ignored. For a long time, the core technology of chip manufacturing equipment has been controlled by American, Japanese, and European companies, but Chinese companies are accelerating independent research and development and have made significant progress

Etching machine

The etching machine developed by Zhongwei Semiconductor has been applied to the production line of 5nm advanced chips and has successfully entered the supply chain of international giants such as Samsung and TSMC, occupying 25% of the global market share.

Thin film deposition equipment

The thin film deposition equipment developed by North Huachuang has passed the technical verification of the domestic 14nm ALD equipment production line and has begun mass production.

Chemical mechanical polishing equipment (CMP)

Huahai Qingke's CMP equipment has successfully completed technical validation for production lines of 14nm and below, and has begun commercial use.

Breakthroughs in lithography machines

Although lithography machines remain a bottleneck in China's semiconductor industry, technological advancements such as the 193nm ArF laser developed by Beijing Keyi Hongyuan and the dual worktable launched by Huazhuo Jingke have laid the foundation for the future development of domestically produced lithography machines.

How can China break through the blockade?

Despite the rapid rise of China's semiconductor industry facing blockades and suppression from Western countries such as the United States, Chinese companies have already adopted coping strategies. Domestic leading chip companies such as SMIC, Huahong Semiconductor, Changjiang Storage, and Zhongwei Semiconductor have jointly established the "China Integrated Circuit Innovation Alliance", which avoids duplicate research and development through patent cross licensing, shortens equipment verification cycles, and improves the speed of technological breakthroughs. For example, the etching machine products of Zhongwei Semiconductor are being tested simultaneously on multiple production lines such as Changxin in Hefei and SMIC Shenzhen, shortening the data exchange cycle from 18 months to 9 months and accelerating the marketization process of domestic equipment.

conclusion

The Chinese semiconductor industry is undergoing a profound transformation. From the price war of silicon carbide materials to the breakthrough in the localization of chip manufacturing equipment, the domestic chip industry is rising at an astonishing speed. Despite facing international blockade and fierce competition, Chinese companies are gradually narrowing the gap with global leading enterprises with mature technology, low-cost manufacturing advantages, and policy support. In the future, with breakthroughs in core equipment such as domestically produced lithography machines, China's semiconductor industry is expected to achieve more comprehensive independent controllability, bringing new pattern changes to the global chip market.