News: Microelectronics
18 January 2021
ROHM completes new building at Apollo plant in Chikugo
Power semiconductor maker ROHM of Kyoto, Japan has held an opening ceremony announcing the recent completion (in December) of its new five-storey building at ROHM Apollo’s plant in Chikugo, Fukuoka, which will boost the firm’s silicon carbide (SiC) power device production capacity (after it enters operation in 2022).
The new building introduces a number of energy-saving technologies to its production facilities, with 100% of its electricity coming from renewable energy sources.
In addition, ROHM has strengthened its BCM (business continuity management) system by introducing various disaster counter-measures. Also, from January ROHM will begin installing production equipment and build a manufacturing system that can meet the medium- to long-term increases in demand for SiC power devices.
ROHM has been mass producing SiC power devices including Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) and metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) since 2010. At the same time, with its integrated production system, the firm says that it is continuously improving its production efficiency by increasing wafer diameter and utilizing the latest equipment while also reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing.
In addition to the new building, SiCrystal GmbH in Erlangen, Germany (a ROHM Group company that manufactures SiC wafers) is scheduled to start operating with 100% renewable energy from the next fiscal year, reducing CO2 emissions from purchased power at the plant to zero. As a result, all of ROHM’s major production processes for SiC wafers will use environmentally friendly renewable energy.
ROHM plans new building at Apollo Plant to expand silicon carbide production capacity
