德国芯片制造商英飞凌周二宣布，将在奥地利菲拉赫工厂投资约11亿欧元，生产氮化镓功率芯片。
German chipmaker Infineon will invest about €1.1bn in its site in Villach, Austria, to make power chips from gallium nitride, the company announced on Tuesday.
公司表示，该工厂将成为全球首个在300毫米晶圆上大批量生产此类芯片的工厂。
It says the plant will be the first in the world to make these chips in large volumes on 300mm wafers.
功率芯片控制电流在设备内部的流向，应用范围涵盖充电器至服务器。大多数功率芯片由硅制成，但氮化镓（GaN）开关速度更快、能量损耗更低、运行温度更低。
Power chips control how electricity flows inside devices, from chargers to servers. Most are made from silicon, but gallium nitride, or GaN, switches faster, wastes less energy and runs cooler.
这使其在任何需要高效处理大功率的场景中都极具用处。英飞凌将这些芯片瞄准AI数据中心、能源网络、电动汽车和机器人领域。
That makes it useful wherever large amounts of power have to be handled efficiently. Infineon is aiming the chips at AI data centres, energy networks, electric cars and robots.
首席执行官韩玉杰表示：“这为氮化镓在广泛关键应用中的普及铺平了道路。”
“This paves the way for the widespread use of gallium nitride in a wide range of key applications,” said chief executive Jochen Hanebeck.
转向300毫米晶圆有望降低成本。据英飞凌称，这种尺寸的晶圆可容纳的芯片数量约为目前氮化镓更常用的200毫米晶圆的2.3倍。公司于2024年首次生产出300毫米氮化镓晶圆。
The move to 300mm wafers is what should bring the cost down. A wafer that size holds about 2.3 times as many chips as the 200mm wafers more commonly used for GaN today, according to Infineon. The company first produced 300mm GaN wafers in 2024.
英飞凌计划于2027年底开始生产，并持续投资该工厂至2034年。因将在菲拉赫现有的洁净室内建设新产线，公司表示扩建成本将低于新建工厂。随后将根据需求提高产量。
Infineon plans to start production by the end of 2027 and to keep investing in the site until 2034. Because it will build the new lines inside cleanrooms it already has in Villach, the company says the expansion will cost less than a new plant. It will then increase output in line with demand.
部分成本将由国家承担。欧盟委员会已根据《欧盟芯片法案》批准3.19亿欧元援助，该法案旨在将更多芯片制造引入欧洲。奥地利经济部仍需给予正式批准。
Part of the cost will be covered by the state. The European Commission has approved €319m in aid under the EU Chips Act, which aims to bring more chipmaking to Europe. Austria’s economy ministry still has to give its formal approval.
奥地利总理施托克尔称这是“奥地利高科技产业历史上最大的单笔投资之一”。
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker called it “one of the largest single investments in the history of Austria’s high-tech industry”.
英飞凌在菲拉赫已雇佣约4800人，在奥地利全国约5800人，但未透露新工厂将增加多少就业岗位。
Infineon already employs about 4,800 people in Villach and about 5,800 across Austria, although it did not say how many jobs the new plant would add.
在股市上，英飞凌股价周二在法兰克福早盘交易中上涨近1%，此前自6月中旬以来已下跌约40%。
On the stock market, Infineon shares rose almost 1% in early trading in Frankfurt on Tuesday, after falling about 40% since mid-June.
该项目加入了其他获得欧盟批准援助的欧洲芯片厂行列，例如台积电在德累斯顿的工厂。
The project joins other chip plants in Europe backed with EU-approved aid, such as TSMC’s factory in Dresden.