Compound Semiconductors And Emerging Substrates

The first 600V system-in-package half-bridge driver from STMicroelectronics integrating two GaN-based HEMTs.

The promising market outlook for GaN devices is highlighted by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 76% for the period 2019 – 2025, according to Yole Développement. The Power GaN market is expected to reach $700M in 2025, up from $24M in 2019, driven by consumer applications. In this context, STMicroelectronics has released its first GaN product: the MASTERGAN1. The company’s partnership with TSMC in the beginning of 2020 has greatly accelerated the release of this product.

In this report, System Plus Consulting unveils STMicroelectronics’ technical choices, from device design up to packaging.
The GaN-on-Si-based power system-in-package device is a half bridge driver with two enhancement mode GaN HEMTs. The GaN dies are co-packaged with an IC in a QFN package. The HEMT uses a metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structure to achieve E-mode and normally-off operation.

In this report, System Plus Consulting presents a deep teardown analysis of the MASTERGAN1, including detailed optical and SEM pictures as well as cross-sections with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis from the packaging down to the epitaxial structure. STMicroelectronics’ technical choices at the microscopic level of the IC and HEMT designs are unveiled.

This report provides an estimation of the manufacturign costs of the IC, the HEMT, and the package, as well as the estimated selling price of the component. Finally, the report includes a comparison with GaN-on-sapphire and GaN-on silicon-based power ICs from Power Integrations and Navitas, respectively. This comparison highlights the differences in GaN die designs and manufacturing costs.

Overview / Introduction

• Executive Summary
• Market
• Reverse Costing Methodology

Company Profile

• STMicroelectronics

Physical Analysis

• Summary of the Physical Analysis
• Package Analysis
  • Package opening and cross-section
• HEMT Die
  • HEMT die view, dimensions, process, and cross-section
  • HEMT die process characteristics
• IC Die
  • IC die view, dimensions, process, and cross-section
  • IC die process characteristics

Manufacturing Process Flow

• HEMT Die Front-End Process and Fabrication Unit
• IC Die Front-End Process and Fabrication Unit
• Packaging Process Flow

Cost Analysis

• Supply Chain and Yields
• HEMT Die
  • HEMT wafer front-end cost and front-end cost per process step
  • HEMT back-end0 cost: die probe test, thinning & dicing
  • HEMT die cost
• IC Die
  • IC front-end cost
  • IC back-end0 cost: die probe test, thinning & dicing
  • IC die cost
• Packaging Assembly Cost
• Component Cost
  • Back-End: Final Test Cost
  • Component Cost

Price Analysis

Comparison

• Technology and Cost Comparison Between Gan Devices from STMicroelectronics, Power Integrations and Navitas

• Discrete Power Device Packaging Comparison 2021
• Integrated Passive Devices Comparison 2021
• BCD Technology and Cost Comparison 2021
• EPC2152 Half Bridge Monolithic GaN IC
• GaN Power Transistor Comparison 2020
• Medium Voltage GaN HEMT vs Superjunction MOSFET Comparison 2019
• MACOM NPA1008 RF Power Amplifier with GaN-on-Si HEMT
• 200V EPC2112 eGaN® HEMT with Monolithic Optimized Gate Driver
• GaN-on-Sapphire HEMT Power IC by Power Integrations
• Infineon 600V CoolGaN Transistor Family