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  Does Taiwan still have a place in the field of compound semiconductors?   Compound semiconductors are widely used and perform better than Si components in some fields, such as GaN/GaAs LEDs/µLEDs for lighting and display, InP EEL/GaAs VCSEL for lasers, GaN HEMT/GaAs HBT for radio frequency , SiC MOSFET/GaN HEMT are used in high-voltage power components, etc. In terms of terminal markets, compound semiconductors are more widely used in various products, such as smart phones, electric vehicles, communication base stations, defense space, industrial manufacturing, medical care, etc. The latest Apple iPhone 14 uses InP EEL as a 3D sensing element at the bottom of the screen. Substrates and Epitaxy of Compound Semiconductors   Another feature of compound semiconductors is the diversification of substrates. For example, GaN can be epitaxy on Sapphire, SiC, Si and other substrates. The global market size of compound semiconductor substrates is currently about USD 1 billion, and is expected to grow to USD 2.2 billion in 2027. The biggest growth momentum comes from the SiC substrates required for the manufacture of SiC SBD/MOSFETs and GaN substrates for RF circuits. At present, the world's leading manufacturers of SiC substrates include Wolfspeed, II-VI, SK Siltron CSS, GT Advanced in the United States, SiCrystal in Europe, Showa Denko in Japan, and Beijing Tianke Heda and Shandong Tianke in mainland China. Yue et al. Taiwan's development in the field of SiC substrates is relatively backward, but there are still a few companies worthy of attention, such as Weisheng, Hanmin, Wensheng, Shengxin, etc., among which Hon Hai Group has invested in Shengxin. There are not many companies that can provide SiC epitaxy services in the world. The leading companies in terms of technology include Wolfspeed in the United States, Showa Denko and Sumitomo in Japan, Xiamen Hantiancheng and Dongguan Tianyu in mainland China, and Taiwan in SiC Lei The more powerful company in the crystal field is Jiajing. IDM vs Foundry's Business Model Controversy   Although it is relatively backward in the field of substrate and epitaxy materials, Taiwan's performance in the field of compound semiconductor foundry is very outstanding, such as Wenmao, Hongjie, Jingcheng, etc. in the optoelectronic and radio frequency communication industry, and Jingcheng in the lighting and display industry. Yuan, Longda, Ni Chuang, etc. With the continuous evolution of technology, the topic worthy of discussion is whether the foundry business model familiar to Taiwan (including X-Fab) can occupy a place in the fast-growing power component industry? At present, in the field of SiC MOSFETs, IDM factories in Europe, America and Japan, such as STM, Wolfspeed, Rohm, Infineon, Onsemi, etc. still occupy the vast majority of the market share. It is a big challenge, so the situation of having an IDM model dominating the SiC MOSFET field from R&D to design to manufacturing will not change. However, through a large amount of capital invested in the research and development of manufacturing technology, foundries that are more proficient in professional manufacturing technology will have the opportunity to play a more important role. This is also the opportunity for Hon Hai Group's Hongyang Semiconductor and Han Lei, who has worked in SiC for many years.  

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