News: Microelectronics
14 March 2024
Infineon files lawsuit in USA against Innoscience
Through its subsidiary Infineon Technologies Austria AG, Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany has filed a lawsuit in the district court of the Northern District of California against gallium nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) power solutions firm Innoscience (Zhuhai) Technology Co Ltd of Suzhou, China, and Innoscience America Inc and affiliates. Infineon is seeking permanent injunction for infringement of a United States patent relating to gallium nitride (GaN) technology owned by Infineon. The patent claims cover core aspects of GaN power semiconductors encompassing innovations that enable the reliability and performance of Infineon’s proprietary GaN devices.
Infineon alleges that Innoscience infringes the patent by making, using, selling, offering to sell and/or importing into the USA various products, including GaN transistors for numerous applications, within automotive, data centers, solar, motor drives, consumer electronics, and related products used in automotive, industrial and commercial applications.
“The production of gallium nitride power transistors requires completely new semiconductor designs and processes,” says Adam White, president of Infineon’s Power & Sensor Systems Division. “We vigorously protect our intellectual property and thus act in the interest of all customers and end users,” he adds. Infineon says that it has been investing in R&D, product development and the manufacturing expertise related to GaN technology for decades, and that it continues to defend its intellectual property and to protect its investments.
On 24 October 2023, Infineon announced the closing of the acquisition of GaN Systems Inc of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (a fabless developer of gallium nitride-based power switching semiconductors for power conversion and control applications), expanding its position in power semiconductors. Infineon’s GaN patent portfolio comprises about 350 patent families. Market analysts expect GaN revenue for power applications to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49% to about US$2bn by 2028 (according to ‘Power SiC and GaN Compound Semiconductor Market Monitor Q4 2023’ from market research firm Yole).
Infineon completes acquisition of GaN Systems
Innoscience responds to EPC’s lawsuits filed at US ITC and federal courts
