News: Microelectronics
10 December 2024
onsemi acquiring Qorvo’s United Silicon Carbide subsidiary and SiC JFET technology for $115m
Intelligent power and sensing technology firm onsemi of Scottsdale, AZ, USA has agreed to acquire the silicon carbide junction field-effect transistor (SiC JFET) technology business, including the United Silicon Carbide subsidiary, of Qorvo Inc of Greensboro, NC, USA (which provides core technologies and RF solutions for mobile, infrastructure and defense applications) for $115m in cash.
Qorvo announced its intention to divest its silicon carbide in early November, saying: “An owner who is strategically focused on this business and can leverage pre-existing sales and support overhead will be able to create more value with the asset… Exiting the silicon carbide market will allow us to reduce operating expenses and avoid the capital expenditures necessary to remain engaged”.
The acquisition will complement onsemi’s EliteSiC power portfolio and enable the firm to address the need for high energy efficiency and power density in the AC-DC stage in power supply units for AI data centers. Additionally, onsemi expects the acquisition to accelerate its readiness for emerging markets such as electric vehicle (EV) battery disconnects and solid-state circuit breakers (SSCBs).
SiC JFETs offer the lowest on-resistance per chip area, using less than half of any other technology, it is reckoned. They also allow for the use of typical off-the-shelf drivers, which have been deployed with silicon-based transistors for decades. Together, these benefits result in faster development, reduced energy consumption and lower system costs, providing significant value to power supply designers and data-center operators, onsemi says.
“As AI workloads become more complex and energy-intensive, the importance of reliable SiC JFETs that deliver high energy efficiency and are able to handle high voltages will continue to increase,” says Simon Keeton, group president & general manager of the Power Solutions Group at onsemi. “With the addition of Qorvo’s industry-leading SiC JFET technology, our intelligent power portfolio offers our customers yet another solution to optimize energy consumption and increase power density.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be finalized in first-quarter 2025.
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