What’s at stake:
The contrast between ST and Wolfspeed couldn’t be starker. Did Wolfspeed, focused intently on leading the transition from 6- to 8-inch SiC wafers, underestimate Chinese wafer makers? Or, too busy satisfying multi-year wafer contracts with SiC device vendors such as Infineon and Renesas, did Wolfspeed fail to see that profitability in the business has already moved on from wafers to devices? We pick the Yole Group’s brain to learn what ST has done comparatively better.
STMicroelectronics last week unveiled its plan for a new 8-inch SiC manufacturing facility in Catania, Italy. That site will become an integrated hub for ST’s comprehensive SiC operations, from wafers to testing and packaging devices.
This move is monumental.
Above all, it paves ST’s path to become, over the long run, a genuine leader on the SiC market.