必一运动

In recent years, focusing on the needs of “strengthening, supplementing, and extending industrial chains,” Suzhou has comprehensively enhanced innovation-driven development. It has increasingly become a key growth pole with a relatively complete industrial chain, high enterprise agglomeration, and leading talent reserves and technology development capabilities. The top 20 enterprises serve as the cornerstone for Suzhou’s integrated circuit (IC) industry to move toward high-end development, boasting strong comprehensive strength and great growth potential.
Oriental Semiconductor has accumulated profound expertise in high-end power semiconductor device technology. As early as 2016, the company began mass-producing China’s first core power semiconductor device for charging piles, making it the first high-voltage power semiconductor enterprise in China to enter the supply chain of the charging pile industry. Currently, the company’s product series are widely used in fields such as DC charging piles, 5G communication power supplies, industrial power supplies, servers, DC motor drives, and photovoltaic inverters, emerging as a crucial supporting force for the domestic substitution of basic components.

Oriental Semiconductor: Achieving a “Zero-Breakthrough” in Power Semiconductor Devices.

Power Semiconductor Devices are primarily used for converting and controlling electrical energy, with wide-ranging applications—essentially, they are indispensable wherever electricity is utilized.

“Device and process innovation capabilities are the core strengths of Oriental Semiconductor. By innovating and optimizing devices and processes, we can manufacture semiconductor products with excellent performance and high reliability, which deliver high efficiency, low energy consumption, and strong stability in energy conversion systems. To continuously enhance product competitiveness, we must persist in technological innovation rather than simply imitating existing technologies,” said Gong Yi, CEO of Oriental Semiconductor.

Guided by this original aspiration, Gong Yi and his partner Wang Pengfei resigned from renowned German enterprises and returned to China in 2008, founding Oriental Semiconductor in Suzhou Industrial Park.

At that time, the global market division system for power semiconductor devices was becoming increasingly rigid.

Leveraging advanced technology processes and leading quality management systems, countries and regions such as Europe, the United States, and Japan firmly dominated the global high-end power semiconductor device market—enterprises like Infineon and STMicroelectronics held over 70% of the international market share.

Chinese enterprises, however, started late. The semiconductor devices required in industries such as industrial manufacturing and communications were highly dependent on imports, with the market almost entirely monopolized by foreign products.

Yet, where there is a monopoly, there lies a market opportunity.

After years of R&D accumulation, Oriental Semiconductor achieved a breakthrough in basic device innovation in 2013 and chose high-voltage, high-power semiconductor devices as its industrialization direction.

“Power semiconductor devices require the integration of device design, process development, and manufacturing capabilities—and we happened to have accumulated expertise in all these areas. This field features relatively slow technological iteration, long product lifecycles, and is more conducive to technological catch-up. More importantly, it offers broad room for domestic substitution,” said Wang Pengfei, CTO of Oriental Semiconductor.

Following repeated debugging, Oriental Semiconductor began mass-producing GreenMOS in 2016—the first independently developed power semiconductor device for charging piles in China. This marked the first time that high-voltage MOSFET products from a Chinese enterprise entered the industrial power supply application field, which had long been monopolized by international giants.

Compared with similar products on the market, GreenMOS generates less heat and achieves higher efficiency, whose performance is fully comparable to that of products from international leading manufacturers. Meanwhile, it boasts a price advantage. This has forced foreign manufacturers to abandon their exorbitant pricing power and reduced the overall system costs. Since the launch of its domestic substitution initiative in 2016, the localization of high-voltage MOSFETs for charging piles has advanced at a remarkable pace. Statistics show that the localization rate of this product has now reached around 50%, laying a solid foundation for the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry.

Currently, most of Oriental Semiconductor’s products are applied in industrial, communications, and automotive-related fields. “There can be no independent and controllable industrial chain without the localization of basic components. A group of enterprises represented by Oriental Semiconductor have been striving for excellence and making strenuous efforts to break through difficulties. They will serve as the cornerstones of a modern industrial system that is independent, controllable, safe, and efficient,” said Wan Li, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology.

Ride the momentum to forge ahead and earn customers’ trust.

After launching the new product, Oriental Semiconductor was confronted with another challenge: how to make domestic enterprises dare to use and willing to adopt domestic semiconductor products.

At that time, high-voltage MOSFET devices accounted for about 10% of the cost of charging piles. They operated in extremely harsh environments, which imposed extremely strict requirements on the performance and reliability of high-voltage devices. Once a device malfunctioned, the charging piles worth tens of thousands of yuan would have to be taken out of service for repairs. R&D engineers generally preferred to purchase stable and reliable products from international renowned brands and lacked confidence in domestic devices.

Just as the company hesitated, a significant historic opportunity emerged.

In 2016, China announced that it would intensify efforts to promote new energy vehicles. Consequently, the market demand for charging pile chips surged sharply, and a handful of international giants could no longer meet the supply needs alone.

“After the introduction of the new policy, the shortage of domestic charging pile chips became acute, and engineers from some manufacturers began to turn their attention to domestic suppliers,” Gong Yi recalled. Taking a tentative approach, one enterprise purchased the company’s MOSFET products and spoke highly of them after testing.

One, two, three… Through word-of-mouth, Oriental Semiconductor secured a number of industrial-grade customers in just one year. Among them was Emerson Network Power, known as the “Whampoa Military Academy” of the power supply industry.

With the recognition from this industry leader, Oriental Semiconductor quickly expanded its product sales. From 2016 to 2018, the company’s operating income almost doubled every year for three consecutive years. In 2020, it was listed among the enterprises with outstanding economic contributions in the industrial park that year. Currently, the company boasts hundreds of end customers, most of which adopted domestic high-voltage and high-power MOSFETs for the first time. Its products are widely applied in fields such as charging pile modules, industrial power supplies, communication power supplies, servers, and data centers.

Presently, China’s information innovation industry is poised for take-off, and domestic enterprises’ confidence in domestic alternative products is steadily growing.

“The current general environment is favorable for independent R&D-oriented enterprises. The market demand for high-end power semiconductor devices will keep rising, and we expect our operating income to double again in 2021,” said Gong Yi. “The opportunities of the times are crucial. No matter how excellent and hardworking a team is, without a suitable stage, their efforts may not be converted into development opportunities.”

Striding Forward in the 14th Five-Year Plan Period, Striving to Be a Pioneer of Innovation in Suzhou.

Rome is not built in a day; only through years of perseverance can great achievements be made.

On December 18, 2020, Oriental Semiconductor officially completed the filing for listing counseling. By then, it had been 13 years since the company settled in Suzhou Industrial Park.

“Engaging in the semiconductor industry requires patience and accumulation. Over these years, Suzhou has always stood firmly behind semiconductor enterprises and strived to provide them with the most favorable support,” stated a relevant person in charge of the Economic Development Committee of Suzhou Industrial Park. He added that Suzhou has performed exceptionally well in industries that demand time for refinement, and recently, Suzhou’s biopharmaceutical industry has also entered a period of explosive growth in innovative achievements.

“Engaging in the semiconductor industry requires patience and accumulation. Over these years, Suzhou has always stood firmly behind semiconductor enterprises and strived to provide them with the most favorable support,” stated a relevant person in charge of the Economic Development Committee of Suzhou Industrial Park. He added that Suzhou has performed exceptionally well in industries that demand time for refinement, and recently, Suzhou’s biopharmaceutical industry has also entered a period of explosive growth in innovative achievements.

“What makes Suzhou most appealing is its openness and inclusiveness—it is willing to embrace young people and new ideas,” said Gong Yi. He noted that Suzhou offers a low cost of living and a pleasant living environment, coupled with an efficient and pragmatic government. Its open and inclusive urban vibe shares many similarities with that of Germany, which makes young people like them who studied abroad in Europe feel a strong sense of familiarity and belonging.。

Oriental Semiconductor has repaid Suzhou with its commitment to innovation and perseverance.

In 2013, the company’s innovative achievements attracted immense attention from state leaders and the entire industry after successful R&D. Instead of getting carried away by the limelight or rushing into real estate projects, Oriental Semiconductor accepted Series A financing and quietly advanced the industrialization of its technologies.

Up to now, Oriental Semiconductor has filed more than 100 invention patent applications, including multiple PCT patents. It has also been successfully selected as an implementing enterprise for the “2020 Suzhou Enterprise Intellectual Property Peak Promotion Plan”.

Innovation is indispensable for China’s development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. “Now it all comes down to who can seize opportunities, who has the courage and sense of mission, and who possesses the capability to excel,” noted an insider. With the goal of achieving an output value exceeding 10 billion yuan, Oriental Semiconductor is determined to become the pacesetter in domestic high-end power semiconductor devices.

Currently, there are thousands of integrated circuit design companies in China. In this era of fierce competition where only the fittest survive, how can Oriental Semiconductor take the lead? The stable talent team built over the long term is the cornerstone of its confidence.

“Innovating device and process technologies requires in-depth exploration. What matters for talent is quality rather than quantity. Our core talent team is extremely stable. The technical leaders are bold in making breakthroughs, boasting exceptional professional skills, and guiding the team to grow together. Even if the company develops more rapidly in the future, this core advantage will remain unshakable,” stated Wang Pengfei.

Suzhou is committed to fully supporting all entities that contribute to local development, regardless of their background, in their pursuit of innovation. According to a relevant person in charge of the Electronic Information Industry Department of Suzhou Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, Suzhou will further focus on the needs of high-quality enterprises like Oriental Semiconductor, provide targeted support, and assist these enterprises in competing for world-class standards and emerging as pioneers of innovation.