Microchip puts $880m into SiC and silicon fab

“One significant phase of the expansion is for increased SiC manufacturing for use in automotive, e-mobility, grid infrastructure, aerospace and defence applications,” according to the company.

The 850 person Colorado Springs campus currently runs six inch wafers, and is to get eight inch capability as part of the upgrade. 400 more staff are also anticipated, said Microchip.

“Our Colorado Springs fab is part of our dual-fab strategy using both internal and external capacity to increase the resiliency of the supply chain for SiC,” Microchip silicon carbide v-p Clayton Pillion told Electronics Weekly. “The expansion includes equipment that can handle both 6in and 8in silicon carbide wafer fabrication, and we will transition to 8in when it’s prudent to do so.”

“This campus is an integral part of producing our SiC technology to assure our customers with supply certainty as they transition to SiC solutions,” said Microchip v-p of analogue Rich Simoncic.

“The Chips and Science Act is already making a positive impact on our business through the Investment Tax Credit and we are seeking capacity expansion grants for several of our semiconductor factories, including our Colorado Springs factory,” explained Microchip president and CEO Ganesh Moorthy.