ROHM GaN licensing brings TSMC process to Hamamatsu
ROHM is bringing TSMC’s gallium nitride process technology into its own manufacturing flow, in a move that says quite a lot about where the power-device market is heading. Under a new licence agreement, the Japanese chipmaker will transfer the process to ROHM Hamamatsu and aims to have an end-to-end in-group production system in place in 2027.
ROHM GaN licensing shifts production control
The immediate message is about supply security. ROHM said the deal is intended to strengthen its ability to serve rising demand for GaN power devices in applications such as AI server power units and electric-vehicle systems. The company already mass-produces 150 V GaN devices at Hamamatsu, and it has been using a 650 V process from TSMC since 2023. Now it wants more of that capability under its own roof, as outlined in the company’s announcement.
That makes strategic sense. GaN has moved well beyond phone chargers and compact adapters. It is increasingly being pulled into higher-voltage, higher-frequency designs where efficiency, switching speed and smaller magnetics matter, particularly in AI infrastructure and automotive power conversion. In that context, relying too heavily on outside wafer capacity starts to look less comfortable.
ROHM GaN licensing builds on earlier TSMC ties
This is not a cold start. As previously reported by eeNews Europe when ROHM and TSMC teamed up on automotive GaN, the two companies had already deepened their relationship in December 2024 around development and volume production for electric-vehicle applications. The new arrangement effectively takes that collaboration a step further by moving process know-how into ROHM’s own production environment.
There is also a wider industry angle. TSMC’s GaN technology is increasingly being redistributed through licensing rather than remaining purely a foundry service. GlobalFoundries, for example, signed its own technology licensing agreement with TSMC in late 2025 for 650 V and 80 V GaN. That suggests a broader reshaping of the GaN supply chain, with process IP being transferred to manufacturers that want tighter control over capacity, roadmap and geography.
What it means for GaN power devices
For ROHM, the attraction is straightforward: more direct control over production, closer integration between process and device design, and less exposure to bottlenecks as demand grows. For the market, it is another sign that GaN is entering a more industrial phase, where manufacturing strategy matters almost as much as transistor performance. The glamour pitch is still efficiency and compact power conversion. The less glamorous but more important reality is that somebody has to build enough of the stuff, in the right place, at the right time.
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