Mitsubishi Electric India in early talks with Indian ATMPs to offer SiC chips for local packaging

Hitesh Bhardwaj of Mitsubishi Electric India

Mitsubishi Electric India has started discussions with a few Indian outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) and advanced test and packaging (ATMP) companies to explore supplying its silicon carbide (SiC) chips for local packaging.

The Japanese major, which currently imports power devices and high-frequency components from Japan and sells them in India, is open to providing bare SiC dies to Indian packaging players that want to build and commercialise their own products.

"Mitsubishi Electric is open to supplying bare SiC dies to Indian OSAT and ATMP companies, if it helps them develop their own packaging solutions," said Hitesh Bhardwaj, business head – semiconductors and power electronics at Mitsubishi Electric India in a conversation with Moneycontrol.

Bhardwaj confirmed that conversations with Indian ATMP players are already underway, though he said it is too early to talk about outcomes or timelines. "We have started a discussion with a couple of ATMP companies," he said, declining to name them.

He added that potential partners are still evaluating how Mitsubishi’s chips could fit into their product portfolios .

According to Bhardwaj, local manufacturers are currently studying the applications and product ranges that could be developed using Mitsubishi’s SiC devices.

"These local manufacturers, they are really evaluating the application of our chips and what kind of a range of products they can launch with our chip," he said.

Mitsubishi Electric does not see itself, currently, as a direct participant in India’s semiconductor push. Instead, Bhardwaj said the company’s focus is on strengthening the power electronics layer, where semiconductors are applied in real-world systems.

Bhardwaj said that demand for silicon carbide-based devices is expected to increase over the next few years, particularly across electric vehicles, chargers and industrial applications.

“SiC is going to be the emerging trend… in the next four to five years, definitely SiC is going to supersede the silicon-based devices,” Bhardwaj said.