| To: slacker711 who wrote (10388) | 7/12/2021 7:54:54 PM | | From: EvanG | | | | FWIW, I doubt that they are going to fund much of their next fab. They received $500 million in subsidies before semis were considered a national priority by every region.
Cree needed to raise $500 million in February for the current fab. STM is investing $1.8 billion to $2 billion in CAPEX this year, which includes pulling forward their SiC substrate efforts. Just saying that size investment barely dents their finances and they didn't need to dilute their shareholders.
It will probably be 24 month before we can even begin to see what the results look like with the ramp of the Mohawk fab.
Gregg Lowe keeps making it sound like it will be early next year. Think 24 months would be a surprise to most investors. |
| | Wolf speed | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last ReadRead Replies (1) |
|
| To: EvanG who wrote (10391) | 7/12/2021 9:04:16 PM | | From: slacker711 | | | | Cree needed to raise $500 million in February for the current fab.
The question isn't whether they are self funding now. That is obviously not the case but whether they will be in the future. I think that decent execution on the 200mm fab will get them there.
I also don't think that they will be supplying half the capex required on their next fab.
STM is investing $1.8 billion to $2 billion in CAPEX this year, which includes pulling forward their SiC substrate efforts. Just saying that size investment barely dents their finances and they didn't need to dilute their shareholders.
STM has guided for $1 billion in SiC revenue in 2025 which will be substantially less than 10% of their total revenue. I have no doubt that they will beat that number handily but the vast majority of their capex is going to non SiC projects.
Gregg Lowe keeps making it sound like it will be early next year. Think 24 months would be a surprise to most investors.
First wafers and qualification samples in the 1st half of 2022. First revs in the 2nd half of 2022. Margins and yields will suck at the beginning of the ramp so the 1st half of calendar 2023 is when I think we can start saying anything definitive about their choice of 200mm. |
| | Wolf speed | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last ReadRead Replies (2) |
|
| To: slacker711 who wrote (10396) | 7/12/2021 9:17:11 PM | | From: Lou Weed | | | | | Cree/Wolfspeed's disadvantage is that they are truly a one-trick pony now. With LED gone, they are completely relying on Materials, Power and RF components for revenue. Their advantage in Materials (that accounts for more than 80% of their revenues in 2020) is being slowly eroded by II-VI and a plethora of Chinese players are on the horizon. I believe Greg Lowe is prettying them up to be acquired but the only problem is their valuation is so prohibitive right now....... |
| | Wolf speed | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| To: slacker711 who wrote (10396) | 7/13/2021 7:36:27 PM | | From: EvanG | | | | STM has guided for $1 billion in SiC revenue in 2025 which will be substantially less than 10% of their total revenue. I have no doubt that they will beat that number handily but the vast majority of their capex is going to non SiC projects.
Access to capital is never a bad problem, mix will shift over time. As revenue scales OPEX does not scale linearly with it. Purchasing power also improves. A bigger company drives cost efficiencies that drives better product pricing which drives better revenue. All of those other product lines become very important to their SiC development.
It is an advantage to some of these companies for SiC to be high CAPEX, very process intensive with complicated chips. Creates barriers to entry. The size of a company and the efficiency it can generate as a result can also be a barrier. |
| | Wolf speed | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: slacker711 | 7/27/2021 9:37:46 AM | | | | | | STM manufactures their first 200mm wafer.
They seem to imply that they will have 200mm production by 2024 but don't say it explicitly.
STMicroelectronics Manufactures First 200mm Silicon Carbide Wafers
Transition to 200m wafers marks milestone in capacity build-up to support automotive and industrial markets in the electrification of their systems and products
Geneva, Switzerland, July 27, 2021 – STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, today announced it has manufactured the first 200mm (8-inch) Silicon-Carbide (SiC) bulk wafers for prototyping next-generation power devices from its facility in Norrköping, Sweden. The transition to 200mm SiC wafers marks an important milestone in the capacity build-up for ST’s customer programs in automotive and industrial sectors and will consolidate ST’s lead in the disruptive semiconductor technology that allows for smaller, lighter, and more efficient power electronics with a lower total cost of ownership.
Among the first in the world, ST’s initial 200mm SiC wafers are also very high quality, with minimal yield-impacting and crystal-dislocation defects. The low defectivity has been achieved by building on the excellent know-how and expertise in SiC ingot growth technology developed by STMicroelectronics Silicon Carbide A.B. (formerly Norstel A.B., which ST acquired in 2019). In addition to meeting the quality challenge, the transition to 200mm SiC substrates requires a step forward in manufacturing equipment and the overall support ecosystem performance. ST, in collaboration with technology partners covering the entire supply chain, is developing its own 200mm SiC manufacturing equipment and processes.
ST currently manufactures its leading-edge, high-volume STPOWER SiC products on two 150mm wafer lines in its fabs in Catania (Italy) and Ang Mo Kio (Singapore) and performs assembly and test at its back-end sites in Shenzhen (China) and Bouskoura (Morocco). This milestone comes as part of the Company’s planned move to more advanced, cost-efficient 200mm SiC volume production. This transition is within the Company’s ongoing plan to build a new SiC substrate plant and source over 40% of its SiC substrates internally by 2024.
“The transition to 200mm SiC wafers will bring substantial advantages to our automotive and industrial customers as they accelerate the transition towards electrification of their systems and products”, said Marco Monti, President Automotive and Discrete Group, STMicroelectronics. “It is important in driving economies of scale as product volumes ramp. Building robust know-how in our internal SiC ecosystem across the full manufacturing chain, from high-quality SiC substrates to large-scale front- and back-end production, boosts our flexibility and allows us to better control the improvement of yield and quality of the wafers.”
Notes to Editors
Silicon Carbide is a compound semiconductor material with intrinsic properties providing superior performance and efficiency over silicon in key, high-growth power applications for electro-mobility (e-mobility) and industrial processes, among others. ST’s leadership in SiC is the result of 25 years of focus and commitment in R&D with more than 70 patents. The disruptive technology allows for more efficient power conversion, lighter and more compact designs, and overall system-design cost savings - all key parameters and factors for success in automotive and industrial systems. 200mm wafers enable a capacity increase, with almost twice the useful area for manufacturing integrated circuits compared to 150mm wafers, delivering 1.8 - 1.9 times as many working chips. |
| | Wolf speed | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| |
