1. Introduction to the Project

1.1 Project background

1.1.1 Product introduction

Gallium oxide, as a representative of the “fourth-generation semiconductors”, stands out among semiconductor materials due to its ultra-wide bandgap characteristics. Compared to silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), the third-generation semiconductor materials, the bandgap width of gallium oxide is as high as 4.9 eV, far exceeding the 3.2 eV of silicon carbide and 3.39 eV of gallium nitride. This characteristic means that electrons need higher energy to transition from the valence band to the conduction band, which endows gallium oxide with excellent properties such as high voltage resistance, high temperature resistance, high power output, and radiation resistance. It plays an important role in popular fields such as 5G communication, new energy vehicles, data centers, and consumer electronics. In addition, under the same specification conditions, wide bandgap materials can achieve smaller chip sizes and higher power densities, which not only helps reduce the cost of heat dissipation systems, but also reduces the wafer usage area, thereby further reducing overall manufacturing costs.

1.1.2 Market prospect

(1) Market situation

With the rapid development of technology, the semiconductor technology plays a crucial role in numerous electronic devices. Gallium oxide, as a highly anticipated material, is considered a strong competitor for the next generation of wide bandgap semiconductors. According to data, compared with silicon carbide, gallium oxide has a wider bandgap (4.2-4.9eV), higher relative dielectric constant, stronger critical breakdown field strength (8 MV/cm), shorter absorption cutoff boundary, and superior transparency and conductivity. In addition, gallium oxide exhibits excellent chemical and thermal stability, and can maintain stability in harsh or high-temperature environments. It can also produce large-sized, high-quality, and dopable bulk single crystals at a cost lower than that of silicon carbide and gallium nitride.

Specifically, gallium oxide is a multifaceted semiconductor material with six different crystal phases, among which the beta phase is the most stable. Through the melting method, large-sized β- phase gallium oxide single crystal substrates can be grown, which is extremely advantageous for manufacturing high-performance power devices. The high-voltage and high-power characteristics of gallium oxide are particularly prominent, with a breakdown field strength three times that of SiC and 26 times that of Si, indicating that it can maintain stability under higher voltage conditions. The information, energy, aerospace and other industries have a huge demand for power devices that can withstand high voltage. Gallium oxide also has the advantage of low loss, with a loss of only 1/7 of SiC, which means it can significantly save energy. Experimental data shows that under the same voltage, the loss of gallium oxide SBD is only 1/7 of SiC and 1/49 of Si. As an efficient and energy-saving semiconductor material, gallium oxide has significant advantages.

Due to its excellent material properties, gallium oxide is considered the core of the next generation of power electronic devices. Gallium oxide based power devices have enormous potential for applications in high-power, high-temperature, and strong radiation fields. At present, silicon carbide is the main component in the market, while gallium oxide high-power devices are still in the research and development stage of major research institutes and have not yet been industrialized. There is no corresponding production capacity in the market.

It is precisely because of the superior material properties of gallium oxide that it has become a research hotspot in the current semiconductor field, and related enterprises are actively promoting its mass production and commercialization process. According to reports, Novel Crystal and Flosfia, two leading gallium oxide companies in Japan, have been investing in gallium oxide research and development since 2012, successfully breaking through multiple key technologies, including 2-inch gallium oxide crystals and epitaxial technology, as well as mass production of gallium oxide materials. Among them, Novel Crystal has achieved mass supply of 2-inch and 4-inch substrates and epitaxial wafers, and announced in July, 2022 that it planned to have produced 20000 4-inch wafers annually by 2025. Flosfia has successfully prepared the Schottky diode with the smallest on resistance in the world by spray chemical vapor deposition method, which has been put on trial in Japan.

The United States has also made significant progress in the research of various links in the gallium oxide industry chain. For example, the US Air Force Research Laboratory has developed an enhanced gallium oxide MOSFET with the high voltage resistance. Kyma Technologies, a company primarily funded by the Advanced Energy Research Projects Agency of the US Department of Energy, can also provide supply of gallium oxide substrates and epitaxial wafers. Institutions such as Germany’s Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth and France’s Saint Gobai company have also joined the development of gallium oxide material devices.

China has also made significant progress in the preparation technology of gallium oxide materials. In February, 2023, China successfully prepared its first 6-inch gallium oxide single crystal. CETC No. 46 Institute successfully constructed a thermal field structure suitable for the growth of 6-inch gallium oxide single crystals, breaking through the 6-inch gallium oxide single crystal growth technology, which can be used for the development of 6-inch gallium oxide single crystal substrates, reaching the highest international level. In addition, MIGSEMI has also achieved a breakthrough in 4-inch gallium oxide wafer substrate technology.

(2) Market prospect

Gallium oxide and other fourth-generation semiconductor materials are considered the most promising materials for preparing the next generation of high-power, high-frequency, high-temperature, and low-power loss electronic devices due to their high voltage resistance, high radio frequency, low cost, and high temperature resistance characteristics, and are known as the “ultimate semiconductor”. Developed countries such as Japan, the United States, and Germany have adopted gallium oxide as the next generation strategic semiconductor material and have implemented a series of support plans. In recent years, the research and development of gallium oxide materials and devices have shown a significant acceleration trend. But the core components almost entirely rely on the epitaxial materials of Japan’s NCT company, which poses a risk of being banned at any time and faces the dilemma of being “choked”. Exploring independent and controllable technological routes to achieve large-sized gallium oxide single crystals and high-quality epitaxial wafers, and based on this, developing high-performance power device supporting processes, forming a complete set of key technologies with independent intellectual property rights, is of great significance for China’s independent and controllable development in new energy technology, communication, national defense and other fields. It can support China’s major transformation from following up to running parallel or even leading in wide bandgap semiconductor technology, and promote the development of energy conservation, consumption reduction and new infrastructure in China.

With the continuous advancement of technology and the increasing market demand, the market prospect of gallium oxide power chips is widely regarded. It is expected that in the next few years, with the successful development and industrialization of high-power gallium oxide devices, they will be widely used in fields such as power electronics, new energy vehicles, aerospace, etc. The high efficiency and low cost advantages of gallium oxide power chips will make them a new favorite in the market.

Domestic manufacturers have also shown a positive attitude in the research and development of gallium oxide power chips. Several companies have initiated related research and development projects and made certain progress. With the acceleration of the domestic substitution process, it is expected that domestic manufacturers will gradually increase their localization rate in the field of high-power devices in the coming years, reduce external dependence, and enhance market competitiveness.

Internationally, the commercialization process of gallium oxide power devices is also accelerating. In addition to FLOSFIA’s predictions, other international research institutions and companies are also optimistic about the market prospects of gallium oxide power devices. With the continuous growth of global demand for efficient, energy-saving, and environment-friendly electronic devices, gallium oxide power devices are expected to become mainstream in the market in the near future.

According to Fuji Economic Consultation Co., Ltd.’s global market forecast for wide bandgap power semiconductor components, the market size of gallium oxide power components will have reached 154.2 billion yen (approximately 1.22 billion US dollars) by 2030, surpassing the size of gallium nitride power components (approximately 860 million US dollars). It can be seen that gallium oxide has a driving effect on market demand.

Overall, gallium oxide has gained increasing attention and research interest in fields such as optoelectronic devices and high-frequency power devices due to its key performance advantages such as bandgap width and breakdown electric field strength. The continuous breakthroughs in gallium oxide will help further expand and improve the functionality and performance of semiconductor devices in the future, with a broad market prospect.

1.1.3 Technical analysis

The melt method is the most ideal way to grow semiconductor materials, and gallium oxide is the only material in wide bandgap semiconductors that has a liquid state at atmospheric pressure, which can be grown using the aforementioned melt method. The commonly used direct pull method for the growth of gallium oxide is a type of melt method, which relies on iridium crucibles (precious metal Ir elemental). The reason is that the direct pull method for the growth of gallium oxide requires a high-temperature and oxygen rich environment, otherwise the raw materials are easily decomposed into Ga and O₂, affecting the products. Only precious metal iridium crucibles can maintain stability in such extreme environments. The process flow of gallium oxide growth begins with the melting and pulling of raw materials in a crucible, followed by cutting, grinding, and polishing to form a gallium oxide single crystal substrate. After further epitaxial processing, homogeneous epitaxial or heterogeneous epitaxial structures are obtained, and finally processed into gallium oxide wafers.

Although gallium oxide poses thermal challenges, its heat dissipation is a problem that can be solved by engineering and does not constitute an obstacle to industrialization. As shown in the figure below, Virginia Tech University in the United States solves the heat dissipation problem by using a double-sided silver sintering packaging method, which can dissipate the heat generated at the Schottky junction. The thermal resistance at the junction is 0.5K/W, and at the bottom it is 1.43. It can withstand surge currents of up to 70A during transients.

1.1.4 Advantageous conditions of project construction

(1) Policy advantages

China’s attention to semiconductor materials is also increasing. In the 14th Five-Year Plan, the development of third-generation semiconductor materials is a key focus, and in the technology plan, ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor materials are included in the strategic research layout.

Jilin Province has issued the Implementation Plan for Accelerating the High-quality Development of Jilin Province’s Digital Economy (2023-2025), which takes the digital government as the guide and digital technology innovation as the driving force to promote the integrated development of digital technology and the real economy. The plan proposes goals such as improving the level of digital industrialization, promoting industrial digital transformation, and strengthening basic support capabilities, aiming to create a new growth pole for the digital economy and provide strong support for the high-quality development of Jilin.

Changchun has established a leading group for the construction of digital Changchun, and has studied and issued policy documents such as the 14th Five-Year Plan for Digital Changchun, the Action Plan for the Development of Changchun’s Digital Economy, the Action Plan for Breakthrough in the Development of Changchun’s Digital Economy, the Policies to Support the Development of Digital Industries in Changchun, etc., placing the development of digital economy in a prominent position and incorporating it into the key cultivation of the “3-transformation, 4-strong and 7-new modern industrial system, highlighting industrial digitization, digital industrialization, governance digitization, and data value, and making every effort to seize the “new track” of digital economy. ‌‌

Changchun has also introduced a series of policies, such as the Three-Year Action Plan for Changchun Optoelectronic Information Industry Starlight Cultivation and the Policies for High-quality Development of Changchun Optoelectronic Information Industry (Provisional), which provide strong policy support for industrial development. ‌

Several policies, including the Policies for Promoting the Development of Strategic Emerging Industries in Changchun New Area, the Notice on Issuing Several Measures to Support the High-quality Development of the Optoelectronic Information Industry in Changchun New Area (Trial), the Policies for Promoting Technological Innovation Development in Changchun New Area, the Policies for Accelerating the Development of Changzhi Optics Valley Park in Changchun New Area, the Policies for Accelerating the Agglomeration of High-level Talents in Changchun New Area, etc., have been issued by Changchun New Area to support the development of the optoelectronic information industry and the introduction and cultivation of talents.

(2) Industrial advantages

Changchun City has taken advantage of the “digital” trend to build a number of digital economy industrial parks, initially forming a cluster of digital economy enterprises. Changchun Big Data Deep Processing Base, Changchun Computing Power Center, and Changchun Data Trading Center have successively operated, forming a diversified digital industry pattern including optoelectronic information, artificial intelligence, electronic components, big data, e-commerce and other formats.

In 2023, the digital transformation and upgrading campaign for industrial enterprises in Changchun City was officially launched, and the Implementation Plan for Digital Transformation and Upgrading of Industrial Enterprises in Changchun City was formulated to accelerate the implementation of the Policies for Accelerating Digital Transformation and Upgrading of Industrial Enterprises in Changchun City. 556 industrial enterprises started digital transformation and upgrading. From 2023 to 2025, it will achieve full coverage of digital transformation and upgrading for 1286 industrial enterprises above designated size in the city.

Currently, 31 of the top 100 national electronic information enterprises have settled in Changsha, forming a digital economy enterprise cluster with the three major communication operators, Huawei, Inspur, 360 Group, Anheng, and Changguang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. as the backbone. The trend of domestic leading enterprises, local enterprises, and universities forming a group for development has initially taken shape, and the trend of enterprise agglomeration has begun to emerge. ‌

Changchun’s optoelectronic information industry has a solid scientific research foundation. With the Chinese President of Science, Chunguang Institute of Mechanics, Jilin University, and Changchun University of Technology as the main body, it has built a number of national key laboratories, such as the State Key Joint Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, the State Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Applications, and the State Key Laboratory of High-power Semiconductor Lasers.

(3) Location advantages

Changchun New and High-tech Zone is located in the southwest of Changchun City, at the inland port of Chang-Jilin-Tumen Development and Opening Pilot Zone. It is an important node of the Harbin-Dalian Economic Belt and China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor. This area has a three-dimensional transportation network of highways, railways, and aviation, especially Changchun Longjia International Airport as an important aviation transportation hub in Northeast Asia, and Changchun-Manchuria-Europe International Railway Freight Train directly to major European cities, greatly shortening the transportation distance between the High tech Zone and major cities in Northeast China, making it a bridgehead for the southward opening of the Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration. ‌

Changchun New and High-tech Zone has a developed transportation network, including the Changchun-Jilin intercity high-speed railway, Harbin-Dalian high-speed railway, Hunchun-Ulanhot Expressway, etc. These transportation facilities greatly facilitate the flow of people and materials, and enhance the connectivity and accessibility of the region.

(4) Talent advantages

The New and High-tech Zone gathers 14 universities including Jilin University and Changchun Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, as well as multiple vocational and technical schools, and 39 research institutes including Changchun Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics and the Institute of Applied Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. There are 21 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as well as over 30000 high-end innovative talents. It also cooperates with universities such as Jilin University and Northeast Normal University to establish practical training bases for college students, promote the transformation from “knowledge-based talents” to “practical talents”, and provide abundant talent reserves for enterprises.

1.2 Contents and scale of project construction

The planned leasing area for the construction of a gallium oxide epitaxial production base and chip research and development line in this project is 4400 square meters. It is expected that within the first three years, the annual production capacity of gallium oxide epitaxial wafers will be 10000 pieces, and the chip production capacity can reach 5 million pieces. It is expected that within five years, the annual production capacity of gallium oxide epitaxial wafers will be 20000 pieces, and the chip production capacity can reach 12 million pieces.

1.3. Total investment of the project and capital raising

The total investment of the project is 300 million yuan, including the construction investment of 2300 million yuan.

1.4 Financial analysis and social evaluation

1.4.1 Main financial indexes

After the project reaches the production capacity, its annual sales revenue will be 263.15 million yuan, its profit will be 78.94 million yuan, its investment payback period will be 5 years (after the tax, including the construction period of 1 year) and its return on investment will be 26%.

Note: “10 thousand yuan” in the table is in RMB.

1.4.2 Social evaluation

Energy efficiency improvement: Gallium oxide power chips have the characteristics of high breakdown electric field strength and low theoretical conduction loss, which makes them perform well in high-voltage, high-frequency, and high-temperature application scenarios. By using gallium oxide power chips, energy loss can be effectively reduced, energy utilization efficiency can be improved, energy waste can be reduced, and it is of great significance for environmental protection and sustainable development.

Promoting technological innovation and industrial upgrading: Gallium oxide power chips, as the fourth generation semiconductor material, have broad application prospects. With the continuous advancement of technology, the application scope of gallium oxide materials will be further expanded, promoting the development of related industrial chains. This can not only promote technological innovation, but also drive the development of related industries and enhance the overall industry level.

Promoting the development of new energy vehicles and smart grids: Gallium oxide power chips have shown great potential for application in fields such as new energy vehicles and smart grids. By applying gallium oxide power chips, the energy efficiency of new energy vehicles can be improved and the range can be extended; in the smart grid, it can improve power transmission efficiency, reduce grid losses, and enhance the stability and reliability of the power system.

Promoting employment and economic growth: The development of the gallium oxide power chip industry will drive the development of related industrial chains, including material preparation, device design, module packaging, system integration, and other links. This will create a large number of job opportunities, promote the development of related industries, and have a positive impact on economic growth and social stability.

1.5 Cooperative way

Sole proprietorship, joint venture or cooperation

1.6 What to be invested by the foreign party

Funds, and other methods can be discussed in person.

1.7 Construction site of the project

Changchun Intelligent Optical Valley Industrial Park

1.8 Progress of the project

The project proposal has been prepared.

2. Introduction to the Partner

2.1 Basic information

Name: Changchun New Area · Changchun New and High-tech Industrial Development Zone

Address: 1357 Jinhu Road, Changchun City, Jilin Province

2.2 Overview

Historical background and geographical location

Changchun New and High-tech Zone is the first development zone and the first national level development zone in Jilin Province. After years of construction, the high-tech zone has achieved great success, with multiple indices ranking among the top in the country. In 2016, Changchun New Area was established, and Changchun New and High-tech Zone became one of its four major development zones.

Leading industries and economic development

Changchun New and High-tech Zone has gradually formed five leading industries: biology and medicine, optoelectronic technology, advanced manufacturing technology, information technology, and new materials. In recent years, the biopharmaceutical industry has become a major highlight, with biopharmaceutical industry clusters represented by Changchun GenSci Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., BCHT, Changchun Institute of Biological Research, etc. achieving rapid and high-level development.

Research innovation and policy support

Changchun New and High-tech Zone actively promotes technological innovation and industrial development, and has successfully been selected as one of the top 20 key high-tech zones/economic development zones in the field of biomanufacturing in 2024 at the China Biotechnology Industry Conference, ranking 54th in the country. The New and High-tech Zone has implemented refined management methods such as “project responsibility system”, “problem meeting system”, and “result supervision system” to accelerate the progress of project construction. The annual plan is to implement 109 projects with a total investment of 65.331 billion yuan.

Future development plan

In the future, Changchun New and High-tech Zone will continue to aim for high-quality development, coordinate the promotion of high-quality economic and social development, expand the total economic output, promote the construction of key projects, and promote industrial agglomeration and innovative development. By attracting investment through the industrial chain and transforming achievements from other regions, it aims to introduce more projects in the biopharmaceutical industry, promote the capacity docking and radiation development of enterprises in the area. The New and High-tech Zone is located in the southwest of Changchun City, which is known as the “Science and Technology City” and “Cultural City”. It is an important part of the southern urban sub center of Changchun. With its unique location, technological and talent advantages, as well as a good cultural and innovative atmosphere, Changchun New and High-tech Zone is committed to building an efficient, fast, and optimized resource allocation platform; it strives to become an innovative source of technological achievements and a radiation source of high-tech industries; it actively implements the three major strategies of leading industry expansion, supporting major projects, and driving industrial parks; it strives to build a national advanced new and high-tech enterprise incubation base, new and high-tech industrialization base, new and high-tech product export base, and new and high-tech entrepreneur cultivation base. With the overall southward development of Changchun City, the New and High-tech Zone will develop into a “new urban economic circle” that undertakes the outflow of urban population and industrial transfer, and become a bridgehead for Changchun City and even the Harbin-Changchun City Cluster to open up to the south.

2.3 Contact method

Contact person: Zhu He

Tel: +86-18104400309

Fax: +86-431—85530635

Contact method of the city (prefecture) where the project is located:

Contact unit: Changchun Cooperation and Exchange Office

Contact person: Zhang Junjie

Tel: +86-15704317930

Fax: +86- 431-82700590

E-mail: xmc82763933@163.com