Chongqing- Recently, the wafer factory of Chongqing Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited (CQAOS) got certification from SGS for automotive chip production, which means Chongqing in Southwest China is able to produce 12-inch automotive application wafers that align with the world's prevailing standards, said a source from the Liangjiang New Area.

SGS is the world's leading testing, verification, and certification company, regarded as the benchmark for quality and integrity. The certification from SGS means the locally made automotive chip can meet the demand of the Chengdu-Chongqing automotive market in the inland, supply China's coastal areas, and even export overseas.

Wafers are the raw materials for making chips, and an automotive chip is an electronic component designed and manufactured for automobiles. It is a semiconductor chip used for various applications, such as engine control, transmission control, infotainment systems, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in vehicles.

Unlike consumer and industrial products, this type of chip has higher requirements for reliability. For example, automobile chips might see the operating temperature as low as -55℃ or as high as about 150℃, while the range for industrial chips is from -40℃ to 85℃, and consumer chips only need to reach from 0℃ to 70℃.

In addition, automobile chips are subject to stricter specifications since they are used in safety-critical situations. Additionally, they must also function for at least 15 years and have a near-zero failure rate.

CQAOS is located in Shuitu New Town, an essential part of Liangjiang New Area's effort to build a multi-trillion advanced manufacturing base.

The company is engaged in the wafer fabrication, assembly & testing of power semiconductors and aims to develop into an IDM supplier of power semiconductors, including designing, R&D, manufacturing, sales, and service.

At its wafer factory, all the photolithography, etching machine, ion implantation machine, and wafer scribing machine are labeled with a yellow tag "designed for automotive products."

"Based on the original automotive certification of sealing & testing production, and components, we expanded the certificate to wafer manufacturing. CQAOS has laid out the related product series of automotive chips and a high-quality foundry platform," said a person in charge of the CQAOS. "We have an abundant production capacity, which can be deployed referring to the market demand."

Furthermore, the first 12-inch wafer-based IGBT in Southwest China developed by CQAOS has realized mass production and harvested a positive market response. Its industrial and consumer 12-inch chip production is between 10,000-11,000 pieces per month.