New Semiconductor Materials China Explores the "4th Generation" of Semiconductors

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The city of Shanghai is preparing for the "fourth generation of semiconductors." The production of chips made from materials such as gallium oxide, diamond, and aluminum nitride has officially been included in the city’s development strategy.

As the Chinese electronics portal Zhongguo Dianzibao reports, efforts to produce chips from "fourth-generation" semiconductor materials are being officially boosted in Shanghai, with the inclusion of this technology in the city's development strategy. For this reason, corresponding companies and laboratories are to be located in several new science and technology clusters. These include "Oriental IC Port" and "Lingang Science and Innovation City".

For some time now, China's largest city has been positioning itself as a stronghold for the development of advanced semiconductors in the People's Republic. Although the production of chips from the new materials is still being researched, industrial policymakers in Shanghai are already keen to recommend themselves as the best location for this future-oriented industry.

The Generations of Semiconductors

In Chinese technical literature, chip production is often divided into generations. The first was classic silicon semiconductors, the second includes compound semiconductors made of gallium arsenide and other materials. Generation 3 are ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors made of silicon carbide and gallium nitride.

In the fourth generation now being researched, gallium oxide in particular is seen as a beacon of hope for particularly heat-resistant semiconductors that can also be produced at low cost due to its physical properties. They enable higher breakdown voltages and operating temperatures. "With its ultra-wide band gap, gallium oxide theoretically has a breakdown field strength that is ten times higher than that of silicon and three times higher than that of silicon carbide. Its Baliga Figure of Merit (BFOM) is more than 3,000 times higher than that of silicon," writes the semiconductor specialist portal Jibang Huahewu Bandaoti.

BFOM describes the theoretical performance of a semiconductor material. The breakdown field strength refers to the maximum electric field strength that the material can withstand before electrical breakdown occurs. Gallium oxide is one of the materials from which "ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors" with such properties can be produced, provided that currently known technical hurdles can be overcome.

Even more important for practical applications is the fact that gallium oxide is the only semiconductor with a very large band gap that can apparently be produced using cost-effective melt growth. According to the Chinese reports, it is conceivable that the cost of wafers could fall close to that of sapphire or even silicon in the future.

Ever Larger Single Crystals

According to Chinese research institutes and companies, they have achieved a number of technological breakthroughs with these materials over the past year. These include the production of ever larger single crystals, epitaxial growth and the development of corresponding production systems.

The technology is still at an early stage of industrialization and the yield, i.e. the yield during production, and other parameters can still be greatly improved. Nevertheless, the many isolated advances are "gradually laying the foundations for industrial applications", writes the trade journal.

Investment in its own research and development has not only been taking place since the US began trying to deny China access to advanced AI chips through trade boycotts. However, while it is clearly difficult to catch up technologically with companies such as Taiwan's TSMC or Nvidia when it comes to current-generation chips, there is an opportunity to develop new technologies on an equal footing from the outset.

"Gallium oxide has a band gap of 4.9 electron volts and a melting point of 1740 degrees Celsius. It has high radiation resistance and temperature stability," writes Zhongguo Dianzi Bao (approx. 3160 °F).

Ahead of Its Time

While Moore's Law continues to reach its limits and the demand for high-performance semiconductors is growing at the same time, the aim in Shanghai is to secure its own supply of all key components for future supply chains in good time.

For applications in many future industries such as smart grids, fast charging of electric cars, modern inverters for photovoltaics or AI data centers, high-performance semiconductors that can also be produced cost-effectively are of crucial importance, according to the announcements from Shanghai. The company wanted to start "building production lines and a new industrial ecosystem" in good time, it said.

Corresponding goals can be found in the latest government report by Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng, which also talks a lot about other future technologies such as "Brain Computer Interfaces" (BCI). (sb)