Silicon Carbide cooperation between SEMIKRON and ROHM Semiconductor: ROHM’s SiC technology empowers SEMIKRON’s eMPack for the next generation of electric vehicles

SEMIKRON, headquartered in Nuremberg, and the Kyoto-based company ROHM Semiconductor have been collaborating for more than ten years with regards to the implementation of silicon carbide (SiC) inside power modules. Recently, ROHM’s latest 4th generation of SiC MOSFETs has been fully qualified in SEMIKRON’s eMPack® modules for automotive use. Hence, both companies serve worldwide customers’ needs.

SEMIKRON announced it had secured a billion-Euro contract to supply their innovative eMPack® power modules to a major German car maker, beginning in 2025. The company developed a fully sintered assembly and connection technology ‘Direct Pressed Die’ (DPD). This enables extremely compact, scalable and reliable traction inverters. The eMPack® module technology has been specially designed for SiC-based converters of medium and high power in order to fully exploit the properties of the new semiconductor material. In addition, SEMIKRON provides evaluation boards for eMPack® that incorporate ROHM’s gate driver ICs, helping customers shorten the time required for evaluation and adoption. In the future, SEMIKRON also plans to use ROHM’s IGBTs in modules for industrial applications.

“Thanks to ROHM’s SiC technology, SEMIKRON’s innovative eMPack®-family of power modules is ready to make a significant contribution to reducing emissions through e-mobility,” says Karl-Heinz Gaubatz, CEO and CTO at SEMIKRON. “ROHM’s SiC technology provides more efficiency, performance and reliability in automotive and also industrial applications.”

ROHM produces SiC components in-house in a vertically integrated manufacturing system and thus delivers high quality, energy-saving products while achieving a constant market supply. ROHM’s production subsidiary SiCrystal, located in Nuremberg, Germany, plans to strongly grow its silicon carbide wafer capacities and human resources – to produce several 100,000 substrates a year.

“We are glad that SEMIKRON has selected ROHM as SiC supplier for the automotive qualified eMPack®. This partnership leads to a competitive solution for inverter application use inside electrical vehicles,” states Isao Matsumoto, President and CEO of ROHM Co., Ltd.. “ROHM offers a broad portfolio of SiC devices – from chips to packages. As the demand for SiC will continue to grow, ROHM will accelerate further investment and product development based on the technology we have cultivated as a leading SiC manufacturer. In addition, our company will continue to propose solutions and deliver customer support,” Isao Matsumoto continues.

ROHM has been a leader in SiC device technology and products since it began the world’s first mass production of SiC MOSFETs. ROHM’s latest 4th generation of SiC MOSFETs, which has been adopted by SEMIKRON, provides industry-leading low ON resistance with improved short-circuit withstand time. These characteristics contribute significantly to extend the driving length and miniaturize the batteries of EVs when they are used in traction inverters. Thus, the company develops advanced, energy-saving SiC devices that reduce environmental impact.

Both companies will continue to contribute to automotive technology innovations by providing optimal power solutions that meet market needs through the fusion of ROHM’s device/control technologies and SEMIKRON’s module technologies that can optimally combine them.

Picture at partnership ceremony: Karl-Heinz Gaubatz, CEO and CTO at SEMIKRON (left), Peter Sontheimer, CSO at SEMIKRON (right), Wolfram Harnack, President at ROHM Semiconductor GmbH (center)