Beijing Changlong Zhixin Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Changlong Zhixin") has established its headquarters in the Beijing Shunyi Science and Technology Innovation Industrial Park. Leveraging local upstream resources for gallium oxide (Ga2O3) substrates and downstream advantages in the New Energy Vehicle (NEV) industry, the company has strategically positioned its business. Adopting an IDM (Integrated Device Manufacturing) vertical integration model, the company focuses on the R&D of Ga2O3 epitaxial materials, high-voltage power device processes, wafer processing and production, foundry services, and sales. Its business model partially benchmarks against Innoscience, a leading gallium nitride (GaN) enterprise. On the industrial front, it collaborates with domestic leaders in alumina and metallic gallium resources to integrate the entire industry chain, and partners with top-tier packaging and testing companies to improve downstream application support.
Editor's Note
As silicon-based devices approach their physical performance limits, silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) have triggered the industrialization wave of third-generation semiconductors. Ultra-wide bandgap materials, represented by gallium oxide (Ga2O3), are regarded as the core direction for next-generation power semiconductors. Compared to previous generations of semiconductor materials, Ga2O3 has a prominent advantage: stronger high-voltage tolerance, making it suitable for power transmission and special equipment scenarios. However, doping and thermal management remain major hurdles for mass production. In this episode of "Chip Revealed: Experts Talk Chips," we interview Zhao Jinyao, Co-founder and General Manager of Changlong Zhixin, to dissect the value of the differentiated Ga2O3 track, technical bottlenecks, commercialization pathways, and long-term development prospects.
Welcome to the Podcast Interview
*The following is a transcript of the podcast, confirmed and authorized by the guest.
Breaking Away from Silicon-Based Involution and Anchoring in the Blue Ocean of Gallium Oxide Growth
Huan Shi: Mr. Zhao, in the early stage of your career, you were engaged in the sales of imported chips and the agency of domestic components. In recent years, you have personally entered the field to co-found Changlong Zhixin, focusing on gallium oxide. What industry judgment was this transformation you personally experienced based on?
Zhao Jinyao: I have been in the industry for over 20 years, always rooted in the semiconductor sector. The core reason for my firm transition to and layout of fourth-generation semiconductors stems from long-term observation of the laws of industrial iteration. Currently, silicon-based chips occupy more than 91% of the global market share, with mature technical systems and complete industry chains. However, they have long reached their physical performance limits. Moreover, core patents, fabrication processes, and key equipment have been monopolized by overseas systems for a long time. Domestic enterprises can only follow and deploy in the existing market, making it difficult to achieve breakthroughs and surpass the competition.
In contrast, in third-generation semiconductors such as SiC and GaN, domestic enterprises have already achieved overtaking on the curve in certain fields. The most typical example is Innoscience. Although it was not the earliest entrant in GaN, it has grown into a global leading enterprise relying on a mature industrialization path. This also confirms that—there is no solidified monopoly in emerging semiconductor tracks, and domestic enterprises completely have the opportunity to switch tracks and take the lead. Therefore, we judge that fourth-generation semiconductors, represented by Ga2O3, are the key direction for deeply cultivating the industry and creating value.
Huan Shi: You have identified an opportunity to overtake on the curve in fourth-generation semiconductors. Could you break it down? Compared to silicon-based, SiC, and GaN, where are the true differentiated advantages and exclusive market opportunities for Ga2O3?
Zhao Jinyao: The core of semiconductor material iteration is to break through the performance bottlenecks of previous-generation materials. Silicon-based devices have high maturity and controllable costs, making them suitable for conventional scenarios such as consumer electronics and general home appliances. However, their voltage resistance and conduction performance are limited, unable to adapt to ultra-high operating condition scenarios. After more than ten years of development, SiC and GaN have entered a stable period of industrialization, and their performance boundaries are gradually solidifying.
Ga2O3 possesses the core advantages of ultra-wide bandgap, ultra-high voltage resistance, and low conduction loss, which are irreplaceable by the first three generations of semiconductor materials. In extreme operating conditions and high-demand scenarios such as ultra-high voltage power transmission, energy saving in computing centers, special radars, and high-precision navigation, Ga2O3 devices can achieve lower power consumption and higher stability, filling the market gap for high-end power devices.
Huan Shi: So its relationship with existing devices is not one of substitution, but rather opening up a batch of brand-new application scenarios that previous devices could not support.
Zhao Jinyao: We believe that all types of semiconductor devices have their optimal application ranges. Take silicon devices as an example; their maturity makes them highly suitable for the consumer electronics and general home appliance fields. However, when facing ultra-high voltage and complex operating condition scenarios, new materials are needed to make up for the capability gap.
Fourth-generation semiconductor materials include diamond, aluminum nitride (AlN), and Ga2O3, each with its own advantages. Diamond has excellent performance, but the difficulty of material preparation and device processing is extremely high, making industrialization very difficult in the short term. After comprehensive comparison, our team is more optimistic about the development prospects of Ga2O3.
Huan Shi: I would like to ask further, what stage is the maturity of the entire Ga2O3 technology route currently at? Have any devices entered the commercialization stage?
Zhao Jinyao: Based on the public industrial information we have seen, this technology route is still in the experimental and accelerated validation stage, and does not yet have the conditions for large-scale commercialization in the short term. There are two core bottlenecks: first, the doping issue; second, the thermal management issue of devices. These two indicators directly determine the ultimate application capability of the devices. Regardless of the type of power device product, it ultimately needs to undergo scenario validation. If these two pain points are not resolved, it will be difficult to achieve scaled commercialization. As mentioned earlier, target application scenarios such as power transmission and special navigation have stringent requirements for device power consumption, thermal management, and reliability.
Running in Parallel Between China and the West: The Industrial Window Period for Gallium Oxide
Huan Shi: Based on the current industry status, what layouts has Changlong Zhixin completed in the Ga2O3 track? What stage is it currently advancing to, and are there any sample wafers or products?
Zhao Jinyao: The founding team of our company, along with upstream industrial shareholders in substrate material enterprises, has already accumulated a certain industry foundation in Ga2O3 materials and devices. At this stage, we are tackling the industrialization process of epitaxy, collaborating with the Jiufengshan Laboratory and multiple universities to carry out scientific research cooperation and pilot-scale development, prioritizing the mastery of mass production technology for epitaxy. On this basis, we utilize our own investments and external supporting equipment to complete device fabrication, promoting engineering validation and wafer processing services. Only after achieving a series of breakthroughs in key technologies and service capabilities will we join forces with more application industry parties to promote larger-scale commercial applications.
Huan Shi: You just mentioned epitaxial technology. It seems there is still a supply gap for domestic Ga2O3 epitaxial products? The level of localization is not high either. How are overseas peers progressing?
Zhao Jinyao: At this stage, domestic Ga2O3 epitaxial materials have not yet fully formed a stable and mature supply system. The representative overseas enterprise NCT released news last year that it already has engineering batch samples, but no substantial large-scale deliveries have been seen on the market side yet.
We judge that there are two possibilities: on the one hand, there is technological blockade in frontier technologies; on the other hand, experiments on related technology routes have failed and require further iteration.
Huan Shi: From this perspective, the scenarios where the Ga2O3 track will first be commercialized are highly likely to be concentrated in the special industry?
Zhao Jinyao: Actually, the entire semiconductor industry generally follows the development path of "military first, civilian later." In the initial stage of the industry, the rigid demand in the special market can accept new technologies, without considering costs in the short term, allowing continuous product validation and trial and error. After the technology matures, it gradually penetrates from the special field to the civilian market.
Although Ga2O3 is called a fourth-generation semiconductor material, it has market continuity and industrial connection with the first three generations of materials. The iteration of industrial technology proceeds step by step, and entirely new materials are difficult to land out of thin air, detached from the existing application system.
Huan Shi: There is a strong technological blockade overseas, which may be precisely because the early applications of these technologies are concentrated in the special field. They will not allow us to easily catch up. You are equivalent to being "the first to eat crab."
Zhao Jinyao: Exactly, we are pioneers.
Huan Shi: Listening to this, the resources to be integrated and the industry chain to be connected in this track are very long, requiring continuous cultivation from substrates, epitaxy, and devices to supporting equipment. Where does the confidence that supports the team's persistent investment come from?
Zhao Jinyao: We can refer to the path of overtaking on the curve by Innoscience in the GaN track. It was not the earliest entrant in the industry, but ultimately grew into a global leading enterprise, providing a clear reference for latecomers. From another perspective, the development of third-generation semiconductors has reference significance, and emerging wide bandgap tracks also have the possibility of replicating similar growth logic. The material characteristics of Ga2O3 have been theoretically and preliminarily experimentally verified in special and high-voltage power scenarios, possessing considerable long-term development space.
From Samples to Commercialization: Prediction of the Development Cycle for Gallium Oxide
Huan Shi: Are there any other enterprises in the industry that have achieved the release of Ga2O3 device samples?
Zhao Jinyao: Currently, participants in the track are still mainly major scientific research institutions. Market-oriented enterprises basically stay in the front-end material links of substrates and epitaxy, with relatively few achievements on the device side. Through cooperation with scientific research institutions, Changlong Zhixin has completed the development of device samples, ranking relatively ahead in the industry.
Huan Shi: Could you briefly introduce the form of your device samples and target application scenarios?
Zhao Jinyao: Relying on epitaxial processes, we have developed gallium oxide Schottky diodes (SSPD) and Ga2O3 MOS power devices, which can conduct preliminary engineering test validation for laboratories, scientific research institutions, and some engineering customers.
Just in late April, we have started docking with some leading power equipment enterprises. They are engaged in high-voltage power transmission and distribution equipment, and ultra-high voltage power applications are one of the important commercialization directions we prioritize targeting in high value-added scenarios.
Huan Shi: The industry generally believes that the thermal conductivity of Ga2O3 is relatively low, significantly lower than that of SiC. Will the layout in power scenarios be constrained by thermal dissipation conditions?
Zhao Jinyao: Thermal dissipation is indeed a core problem that cannot be bypassed. Like the doping issue, it is an inherent challenge brought by the material's own characteristics. Currently, we are collaborating with partners on the material side, scientific research institutions, and making advance layouts with Changjiang Optoelectronics Industrial Investment regarding thermal management and Advanced Packaging. We are trying to adjust material preparation processes, thin-film epitaxy solutions, and customized packaging to explore feasible paths to improve thermal management.
Huan Shi: A large amount of process optimization work still needs to be continuously carried out subsequently. Next, I would like to ask, how does Changlong Zhixin position its own model? Does it lean towards IDM or virtual IDM?
Zhao Jinyao: At this stage, our positioning leans towards a light IDM model.
Huan Shi: The pressure of heavy-asset full-chain layout is not small. Have you considered focusing on a single link, such as only doing materials or device design, for lightweight development?
Zhao Jinyao: From the perspective of long-term industrial development laws, if you want to master core technologies and industrial discourse power, the IDM model is more likely to form industrial leading capabilities. If you only layout a single link, it is difficult to form irreplaceable core competitiveness.
Huan Shi: Full-chain layout means huge capital expenditures and multi-link technological breakthroughs. How will the funding issue be resolved?
Zhao Jinyao: During the Jiufengshan Exhibition in April, we have conducted in-depth exchanges and reached cooperation intentions with domestic upstream material supply chains and industrial parties and investment institutions such as Changjiang Optoelectronics Industrial Investment. As the industry continues to popularize and technology continuously advances, the understanding of the track by industrial capital will continue to deepen. As long as the connection between technology and the market is bridged, the pressure at the funding level may be easily resolved.
Huan Shi: As a pioneer in the track, how do you predict the overall maturity cycle of Ga2O3 devices? What challenges still need to be overcome for complete industrialization?
Zhao Jinyao: We judge that the epitaxial material process and device fabrication production lines still need about one to two years of basic technical preparation. The scaled explosion of the industry will most likely take 3 to 5 years.
The core challenges ahead remain technological breakthroughs: epitaxial preparation processes, controllable doping solutions, and the thermal dissipation issue you just mentioned. Only after substantive breakthroughs are made in the above issues can Ga2O3 usher in a window for scaled commercialization in the fields of power transmission, computing power power supply supporting, and special equipment.
Industry-University-Research Collaboration to Build Momentum for Long-Term Industrial Development
Cao Huan Shi: What is the cooperation model between Changlong Zhixin and Jiufengshan Laboratory? Does the technological synergy cover substrates, epitaxy, or device links?
Zhao Jinyao: Jiufengshan Laboratory focuses on compound semiconductors, and Ga2O3 is an important branch. The two sides have complementary advantages: we possess independent technology routes and industrial teams, while the laboratory has complete equipment platforms and R&D capabilities.
The focus of cooperation with Jiufengshan Laboratory is not on substrate materials, but on epitaxial validation and device R&D, which highly overlaps with our R&D direction.
Huan Shi: Do both parties plan to jointly establish an entity company to promote the project?
Zhao Jinyao: There are no relevant plans for now. Both parties mainly focus on joint technological iteration. The laboratory invests in equipment and R&D manpower, and technological achievements are cooperated using a model of joint ownership or differentiated ownership division.
Huan Shi: Essentially, it is still about co-building an experimental transformation platform, reducing the initial R&D costs of start-ups through intensive investment, which is also the ingenuity of the industrial layout of Wuhan Optics Valley. You have been deeply engaged in the semiconductor industry for over 20 years. What advice do you have for young practitioners who aspire to enter the semiconductor industry, especially the wide bandgap track?
Zhao Jinyao: In the early stage, the industry threshold was relatively limited. Along with the intensification of technological competition, the threshold continues to rise. The industry has also gradually moved from following overseas in the past to independent innovation. Against the background of external technological blockades, the domestic semiconductor industry has great potential. I advise young people who have the opportunity to enter this industry to calm down and cultivate it for the long term, persisting in treating semiconductors as a long-term career. The development space is worth looking forward to.
Huan Shi: So semiconductors are still an industry worth long-term deep cultivation, not a direction that will be replaced by AI (Artificial Intelligence). There are still many opportunities.
Zhao Jinyao: There are also many juniors around me who chose semiconductor-related majors under my advice. My nephew is one of them. He was admitted to Xidian University under my recommendation, and last year went to Huazhong University of Science and Technology to pursue a Ph.D. related to optoelectronics. At that time, my advice to him was that the optoelectronics track has just started in China, and by following this direction step by step, there is great potential.
Huan Shi: You are also leading by example in guiding young juniors to join this industry. It can be seen that you are truly optimistic about this track. As an emerging track, the gap between domestic enterprises and overseas giants in Ga2O3 is not huge. There are opportunities to run in parallel, and even achieve partial leadership. We very much look forward to Changlong Zhixin achieving more technological progress in the future, and welcome you to share again on "Chip Revealed" later.
Zhao Jinyao: Okay, thank you.
END
Interview | Huan Shi Editor | Xiao Qie Reviewer | Huan Shi