South Korean semiconductor wafer maker SK Siltron and Britain-based chip material firm IQE has inked a strategic collaboration agreement to develop next-generation compound semiconductor products targeting the Asian market, SK Siltron said Tuesday.

Under the agreement signed Thursday, the two companies will work to develop epitaxial wafers based on gallium nitride using IQE's technology, with wafer substrates made of silicon and silicon carbide supplied by SK Siltron.

Gallium nitride can help improve performance with lower power consumption for chip end users compared with conventional silicon technologies, according to the companies.

The silicon carbide wafers with a gallium nitride layer will be used for radio frequency applications in the wireless communications market, whereas the silicon wafers will be applied to electric cars, smart devices and fifth-generation network infrastructure like massive Multiple Input Multiple Output base stations.

SK Siltron is Korea's only silicon wafer manufacturer that supplies chip substrates to domestic chip giants such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

(consnow@heraldcorp.com)