August 12, 2024 /SemiMedia/ -- Infineon Technologies recently announced that it has started production at its largest ever power chip factory in Kulim, Malaysia. The company said that once the factory reaches full capacity in the next five years, it will become the world's largest silicon carbide (SiC) factory.

Malaysia has become Infineon's largest chip production base in Asia and home to its largest chip packaging and assembly business globally.

Infineon Technologies Kulim senior vice president and managing director Ng Kok Tiong said Infineon has about 15,000 employees in Malaysia, more than anywhere else in the world, including its headquarters in Germany.

Infineon, a leader in the market for power supplies and microcontroller (MCU) chips, is eyeing several types of wide-bandgap semiconductors, including those based on SiC and gallium nitride (GaN).

“With SiC, we can double the power density at the same size, or achieve the same power at half the size, compared to silicon-based power solutions,” said Raj Kumar, senior vice president of technology and R&D at Infineon Technologies.

Infineon forecasts revenue from SiC-related solutions to reach at least 600 million euros ($656 million) in fiscal 2024, ending in September.

The company said it would invest an additional 5 billion euros in the second phase of construction of the Kulim factory.