Cree Announces Signing of a Global SiC Materials License Agreement with Nippon Steel
Cree, Inc. announced it has entered into a silicon carbide (SiC) materials license agreement with Nippon Steel Corp. Under the terms of the agreement, Nippon Steel Corporation, and affiliates including Nippon Steel Materials Co., Ltd., have been given the right to manufacture and sell silicon carbide materials for electronic device applications. Over the lifetime of the agreement, Cree will receive certain financial considerations from Nippon Steel. As part of this agreement, Cree was also granted rights to Nippon Steel’s relevant SiC-related patents. Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed. No technology transfer between the parties was included.
SiC is a high-performance semiconductor material used in the production of a broad range of lighting, power and communication components, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs), power switching devices and RF power transistors for wireless communications.
SiC devices are used today for solar inverters, high-voltage power supplies and power conditioning in many industrial power applications.
"Cree is a pioneer in SiC materials technologies, resulting in energy-efficient power switching devices and high brightness LEDs," said Steve Kelley, Cree Chief Operating Officer. "We are pleased that Nippon Steel joins us in supporting the electronics device industry with licensed SiC materials."
"Nippon Steel has been conducting intensive R&D on SiC materials over twenty years," said Dr. Misao Hashimoto, Nippon Steel, fellow and Director of the Advanced Technology Research Laboratory. "The good working relationship between Cree and Nippon Steel enabled us to achieve our commitment for growing the global SiC market."
