News: Microelectronics
21 July 2025
Nexperia and TU Hamburg launch endowed chair in power electronics
Discrete device designer and manufacturer Nexperia of Nijmegen, the Netherlands (which operates wafer fabs in Hamburg, Germany, and Hazel Grove Manchester, UK) and the Hamburg University of Technology (TU Hamburg) have launched an endowed professorship in power electronic devices. The position, held by professor Holger Kapels, will drive research on next-generation semiconductor components and train highly skilled engineers at TU Hamburg’s School of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics. As part of this initiative, Kapels will also lead the newly founded Institute for Power Electronic Devices.
In his inaugural lecture ‘Innovative Power Semiconductor Devices as a Key Technology for an Electrified Future’, Kapels outlined how compound semiconductors based on silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) are enabling transformative improvements in energy efficiency — particularly in electric vehicles, industrial systems, and data centers. Wide-bandgap (WBG) materials such as SiC, GaN and aluminum scandium nitride (AlScN) allow higher switching frequencies, lower conduction losses, and more compact device footprints compared with traditional silicon.
The new institute will focus on power semiconductors based on silicon, SiC, GaN and aluminum scandium nitride (AlScN), new device architectures, including vertical GaN structures, and machine-learning-based fault prediction systems. Additional research priorities include modeling the reliability and ruggedness of power devices under extreme operating conditions.
Opening remarks at the event were delivered by TU Hamburg president professor Andreas Timm-Giel. Representing the Hamburg Senate, the State Secretary for Science Dr Eva Gümbel emphasized the broader impact of the new chair: “Power electronics are vital to sustainable energy supply and industrial innovation. With Kapels, TU Hamburg gains a leading researcher who will shape both science and education in this strategic field.”
“This professorship is an investment in future technologies, in local talent, and in Hamburg as a center for semiconductor excellence,” stressed Ansgar Thorns, vice president R&D at Nexperia Germany. “Fostering innovation and developing the next generation of engineers go hand in hand — and both are critical to strengthening our deep-tech ecosystem.”
The new chair is part of Nexperia’s long-term innovation strategy. The firm has a manufacturing legacy in Hamburg that dates back over a century to the founding of the Valvo radio tube factory in 1924 — a pioneering site in German electronics history. Now, Nexperia’s Hamburg facility produces about 25% of the world’s small-signal diodes and transistors. Since 2017, the site has expanded from 950 to about 1600 staff and undergone significant technological modernization, including a strategic expansion into power semiconductors.
“This is Nexperia’s first endowed professorship and a milestone for our engagement with research and education,” Thorns says. “We’re proud to partner with TU Hamburg — a strong academic institution — to shape the future of energy-efficient semiconductor technologies in Germany and beyond.”
Beginning in the winter semester 2025/26, Kapels will teach ‘Electrical Engineering I’ and ‘Wide Bandgap Semiconductors’, helping to equip a new generation of engineers with the expertise needed to support the global shift toward electrification and decarbonization.
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