Infineon targets large share of GaN chip market after breakthrough

(Reuters) - German semiconductor maker Infineon said on Wednesday that it would take a large slice of the growing market for gallium nitride (GaN) chips, after announcing a technological breakthrough that it said would bring down costs.

The market for this technology will reach a volume of several billion dollars by the end of the decade, Infineon CEO Jochen Hanebeck told reporters.

"We want to shape the market," he added.

GaN is an alternative to silicon in chip manufacture, with GaN chips favoured for their efficiency, speed, light weight and ability to function under hot conditions and high voltages.

The chips allow for smaller chargers to be made for devices such as laptops, smartphones and electric cars.

"We expect that market prices for GaN chips will approach silicon prices in the coming years", Hanebeck told reporters.

Infineon has been able to produce GaN chips on 300 milimetre wafers, in a development hailed by the company as a world first.

Hanebeck said 2.3 times more GaN chips can fit on a 300mm wafer than on a 200mm wafer, bringing down the cost of production.

(Reporting by Hakan Ersen, Writing by Louis van Boxel-Woolf, Editing by Rachel More)

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