Riken and Taiwan academia join forces on next-gen compound semiconductors

Riken’s collaboration with academia in Taiwan, China on compound semiconductors is a strategic move to close Japan’s gap in wide-bandgap material ecosystems. This partnership will likely accelerate GaN/SiC integration into cryogenic control circuits for quantum processors—a key bottleneck IBM and Google still grapple with. However, under tightening U.S.-Japan-Netherlands export controls, joint R&D involving advanced nodes or quantum hardware risks triggering compliance scrutiny, especially when institutions from Taiwan, China are involved; Washington may restrict EDA licenses or metrology tools. While TSMC and UMC won’t see immediate gains, any novel RF or power device architectures emerging could erode Infineon’s and Wolfspeed’s automotive dominance. Within 18 months, such 'research-first, industry-follows' alliances may crystallize across East Asia—but also invite expanded extraterritorial enforcement of the U.S. CHIPS Act.