On July 2nd, Infineon announced on its official website that its scalable gallium nitride manufacturing technology based on 12 inch wafers is progressing smoothly, and the first batch of samples will be provided to customers in the fourth quarter of 2025.

It is reported that Infineon has successfully developed 12 inch gallium nitride power wafer technology within its existing large-scale manufacturing infrastructure. Infineon stated that they are prepared to expand their customer base and consolidate their market position.

According to a previous report by "Experts Say Three and a Half Generations", in September 2024, Infineon officially released its first 12 inch gallium nitride wafer. Specifically, at the Villach power plant in Austria, it successfully utilized the existing 12 inch silicon-based semiconductor production line to manufacture a 12 inch gallium nitride wafer on an integrated test line. Compared to an 8-inch wafer, a single wafer can accommodate 2.3 times the size of a chip.

Johannes Schoiswohl, Head of Infineon's GaN Business Line, said, "Infineon's fully expanded 12 inch gallium nitride manufacturing capabilities will enable us to provide our customers with the highest value faster, while gradually achieving cost parity for similar silicon and gallium nitride products

According to research, 6-inch is still the mainstream specification for gallium nitride wafer fabs, and only a few companies such as Innolux have achieved 8-inch gallium nitride wafer manufacturing. The difficulty in producing 8-12 inch silicon-based gallium nitride wafers mainly lies in the design of epitaxial buffer layers. In order to better solve lattice mismatch, thermal mismatch, and stress problems, it is usually necessary to deposit a thick buffer layer on the substrate, which greatly improves the difficulty and efficiency of high-yield production.

However, Infineon has already achieved a breakthrough in ultra-thin 12 inch silicon power wafers, with a thickness of 20 μ m, only a quarter of a human hair, which is half the thickness of the most advanced 40-60 μ m wafers currently available. Although this technology is applied to silicon wafers, it is highly likely to be introduced into the production of gallium nitride wafers.
It is worth noting that in addition to Infineon, 9 domestic and foreign manufacturers have also achieved breakthroughs in 12 inch GaN technology:
TEXAS

In October 2024, Texas Instruments revealed that it had successfully launched a pilot project to develop GaN manufacturing processes on 12 inch wafers earlier this year. In addition, Texas Instruments' expanded GaN manufacturing process can be fully converted to use 12 inch technology, allowing the company to quickly expand its scale according to customer needs and prepare for future conversion to 12 inch technology.

● Intel

In June 2021, Intel showcased its first gallium nitride voltage regulator, which is most unique in its use of five technologies that integrate GaN power and GaN RF transistors with silicon PMOS into an on-chip system, enabling both high-frequency operation and high power density. And the device is based on a 12 inch silicon wafer, which has a cost advantage.

In December 2024, Intel showcased the industry's first high-performance, miniature enhanced GaN MOSHEMT transistor manufactured on a 12 inch GaN on TRSOI engineering substrate, with an effective resistivity about four times higher than typical GaN on (HR) silicon.

Cloud Gallium Semiconductor

In July 2024, Cloud Gallium Semiconductor released a 650V/12m Ω ultra-high current chip, based on 12 inch gallium nitride wafer production, achieving industry-leading 12m Ω ultra-low on resistance with a test yield of over 90%.

● Shinetsu Chemical

In September 2024, Shin Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. announced the launch of a 300mm (12 inch) QST ™  Substrate, which is a growth substrate specifically designed for GaN, has recently started supplying samples.

It is reported that Shin Etsu Chemical has achieved QST in 150mm and 200mm ™ Enhanced on substrate equipment and plans to conduct 300mm QST in the future ™ Mass production of substrates.
Zhejiang Jingrui

In March 2025, SuperSiC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jingsheng Electromechanical, Zhejiang Jingrui, publicly showcased strategic new products such as semiconductor grade 12 inch sapphire ingots/substrates for the first time. It will actively work together with upstream and downstream industrial chains to expand the application boundaries of semiconductor grade sapphire substrates.

Tiantong Yinxia

In 2023, Tiantong Yinxia revealed that they have grown ultra large sapphire crystals using self-developed core equipment, and have the mass production capability to process large-sized sapphire substrates ranging from 8 inches to 12 inches, meeting the demand for large-sized sapphire products in the semiconductor industry and other fields.

Orbray

In November 2022, Orbray Corporation of Japan announced that it had started trial sales of 12 inch sapphire substrates, which can serve as carrier wafers for 12 inch semiconductor manufacturing processes.

Jingzhan Semiconductor

In September 2021, Jingzhan Semiconductor showcased 12 inch, 1200V silicon-based GaN epitaxial wafers to the public, paving the way for the use of mainstream 12 inch CMOS production lines to manufacture GaN HEMT transistors.

It is reported that as early as 2014, Jingzhan launched a commercial 8-inch silicon-based GaN high-voltage HEMT epitaxial wafer; They transferred their AlGaN/GaN HEMT epitaxial process to a 12 inch silicon substrate, maintaining excellent thickness uniformity and low wafer warpage within 50 μ m.

● IV Works

IV Works is a Korean gallium nitride epitaxial company established in 2011. The company is the first wafer fab in South Korea to achieve 8-inch silicon-based GaN epitaxial wafers and 6-inch silicon carbide based GaN epitaxial wafers, and there are reports that they have built a 12 inch gallium nitride production facility for the first time in South Korea.