STMicroelectronics announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Exagan, a French gallium nitride innovator.
Exagan's expertise in epitaxy, product development and application know-how will extend and accelerate ST's roadmap and activities in GaN-based power applications for Automotive, Industrial and Consumer Electronics. Exagan will continue to execute its product roadmap and will be supported by ST in its product development.
The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed and the closing of the acquisition remains subject to customary regulatory approvals by the French authorities. The agreement also calls for ST to acquire the remaining minority interest in Exagan 24 months after the closing of the acquisition of the majority stake. The transaction will be funded with available cash.
Gallium nitride, a very promising material
"ST has made astrong push into silicon carbide and is now expanding into another very promising compound material, gallium nitride, to drive the adoption of GaN-based power products at customers in theAutomotive, Industrial and Consumer Electronicsmarkets," said Jean-Marc Chery, President & CEO of STMicroelectronics. "The acquisition of a majority stake in Exagan represents a further step in strengthening our global technology leadership in power semiconductors, as well as our company's activities, ecosystem and long-term roadmap in GaN. This transaction adds to the developments already underway with CEA-Leti in Tours, France, and the recently announced collaboration with TSMC."
gallium nitride (GaN) belongs to the broad energy band (WBG) family of materials that includes silicon carbide. GaN-based devices represent a major step forward in power electronics as they allow higher frequency operation, higher efficiency and higher power density than silicon-based transistors, enabling lower power consumption and more compact system size. GaN products will be used in a wide range of applications, such as power factor correction (PFC) and DC-DC converters in servers, telecommunications and industrial applications, on-board chargers for electric vehicles and DC-DC converters for automotive applications, as well as various personal electronics applications such as power adapters.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Grenoble, France, Exagan is dedicated to accelerating the power electronics industry's transition from silicon-based technologies to GaN-on-Silicon technology, making it possible to build more compact and efficient electrical converters. Its GaN power switches are designed to be manufactured in standard 200 mm wafer processing plants.
