Power and compound semis drive 200mm investment

Semiconductor manufacturers worldwide are projected to increase 200mm fab capacity by 14 percent from 2023-2026, Semi predicts. Adding 12 new 200mm volume fabs will push capacity to a record high of more than 7.7 million wafers per month. Power and compound semiconductors, which are vital for consumer, automotive and industrial sectors, are the biggest drivers of 200mm investments. The development of powertrain inverters and charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) in particular is expected to fuel increases in global 200mm wafer capacity as EV adoption continues to rise.

“The global semiconductor industry’s ramp to record 200mm fab capacity highlights the bullish expectations for growth in the automotive market in particular,” says Semi CEO Ajit Manocha. “While automotive chip supply has stabilized, the increased chip content in EVs and the drive to reduce charging time is spurring capacity expansions.”

The “Semi 200mm Fab Outlook to 2026” report shows fab capacity for automotive and power semiconductors growing 34 percent from 2023-2026, with Microprocessor Unit/Microcontroller Unit (MPU/MCU) ranking second at 21 percent, followed by MEMS, Analog, and Foundry at 16, 8 and 8 percent, respectively. Accounting for most of the 200mm fab capacity are 80-350nm technology nodes. Growth of 80-130nm node capacity is forecast to expand by 10 percent, while 131-350nm technology nodes are expected to register an 18 percent expansion from 2023-2026.

China is expected to be the biggest contributor to the 200mm capacity expansion, posting 22 percent growth. The Americas, Europe & Mideast and Taiwan will follow at 14, 11 and 7 percent growth, respectively. Chip suppliers including Bosch, Fuji Electric, Infineon, Mitsubishi, Onsemi, Rohm, STMicroelectronics and Wolfspeed have announced accelerating their 200mm capacity projects.