Foundry semiconductor company SK Key Foundry (CEO Lee Dong-jae) announced that it has recently launched its fourth-generation 200V high-voltage 0.18-micron BCD (Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS) process and will commence full-scale product development with major domestic and overseas customers, targeting mass production within this year.

With the recent acceleration of automotive electrification and the expansion of AI data centers, market demand for high-voltage, high-efficiency power semiconductors is surging. In particular, automotive power systems are shifting from the conventional 12V to 48V, while AI servers and data centers are also raising voltages from 380V DC up to as high as 800V DC in order to maximize power efficiency and power density. Accordingly, the importance of process technologies that can reliably withstand high voltages above 100V while efficiently controlling power is greater than ever.

SK Key Foundry’s newly introduced fourth-generation 200V high-voltage 0.18-micron BCD process is characterized by more than a 20% improvement, compared with the third generation, in Rsp (specific on-resistance), which indicates power efficiency and high-temperature durability, and in BVDSS (breakdown voltage). It also offers low on-resistance devices for each operating voltage, minimizing chip area and power loss to secure process competitiveness. In particular, it provides a Thick IMD option that safely transmits digital signals while blocking unwanted high voltages and noise between high-voltage, high-current PMIC semiconductors using BCD and HV MOSFETs. It further enhances the scalability of high-voltage IC design by offering a variety of embedded memory options such as SRAM, ROM, MTP, and OTP, as well as Hall sensors for precision motor control.

The new process from SK Key Foundry can be applied to the development of a wide range of products, including high-voltage power management and conversion chips, motor drivers, LED drivers, and power supply gate drivers. Most notably, it meets the stringent automotive component reliability standard “AEC-Q100 Grade 0,” enabling immediate application to in-vehicle electronic components that require high reliability even in extreme environments.

SK Key Foundry CEO Lee Dong-jae said, “Demand for BCD processes above 100V is rapidly increasing due to higher power requirements in AI servers and automotive electronic systems,” adding, “In a situation where there are few foundries offering high-voltage BCD processes on bulk silicon, the mass production of the 200V high-voltage 0.18-micron BCD process is a meaningful achievement, and we plan to continue advancing our process technologies to meet the needs of power semiconductor customers.”

Popular News