Cree's Wolfspeed and STMicroelectronics expand existing 150mm SiC wafer supply agreement.

Cree, Inc., a global leader in silicon carbide technology, and STMicroelectronics announced the expansion of the existing multi-year long-term silicon carbide (SiC) wafer supply agreement. Cree's Wolfspeed is the global leader in SiC technology. STMicroelectronics is the world's leading semiconductor company, spanning multiple electronic applications. According to the updated agreement, Cree will supply 150mm SiC bare wafers and epitaxial wafers to STMicroelectronics in the next few years, and the total amount of the agreement will be expanded to more than 800 million US dollars.

Jean-Marc Chery, President and CEO of STMicroelectronics, said: "This latest expansion of the long-term wafer supply agreement with Cree will continue to increase the flexibility of our global SiC substrate supply. It will continue to provide our global SiC supply provides an important contribution, which is complementary to the other external capacity that we have secured and the internal capacity that we are climbing. A large number of automotive and industrial customers’ projects have a large amount of demand or are in volume. The agreement will help meet us in the next few years The high volume required for product manufacturing."

As the automotive industry is transforming from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles, the adoption of SiC-based power semiconductor solutions is growing rapidly in the automotive market. SiC solutions bring higher system efficiency to electric vehicles, thereby achieving longer-distance cruising range, faster charging, while reducing costs, weight, and space. In the industrial market, SiC solutions enable smaller, lighter, and more cost-effective designs to convert energy more efficiently, thereby opening new applications of clean energy. In order to better support these growing markets, device manufacturers are very interested in ensuring access to high-quality SiC substrates to support customers.

Gregg Lowe, CEO of Cree, said: "We are very pleased that STMicroelectronics will continue to use Wolfspeed SiC materials as part of its supply strategy for the next few years. The latest total of our long-term wafer supply agreements with device suppliers has exceeded 1.3 billion US dollars, which will strongly support the advancement of the industrial transformation from Si to SiC. The many cooperations we have carried out and the important investment in capacity expansion will ensure our favorable position in what we believe will last for decades. Benefit from the growth opportunities of basic applications."