2 August 2011

Sapphire furnace maker ARC signs two contracts worth $96.9m

Advanced RenewableEnergy Company LLC (ARC Energy) of Nashua, NH, USA, which was founded in 2007 to provide c-axis sapphire crystal growth technologies and turnkey processing solutions for the LED solid-state lighting and other clean-energy markets, has signed $96.9m in additional new contracts with two leading Asian manufacturers.

ARC Energy will provide each customer with LED sapphire manufacturing equipment and technology, including highly automated c-axis Controlled Heat Extraction System (CHES) furnaces, and additional turnkey solutions and services.

ARC Energy is also expanding its manufacturing facility by 30,000 square feet. Scheduled for completion in fourth-quarter 2011, the expansion will triple the firm’s manufacturing capacity, enabling it to become one of the world's largest sapphire furnace suppliers for LED manufacturing, it is reckoned.

“Many manufacturers are now installing and operating ARC Energy’s technology for mass production of large-diameter sapphire,” says senior VP Hap Hewes. “These new contracts and our planned capacity expansion highlight the advantages of our unique c-axis sapphire platform and ARC Energy’s associated turnkey solutions,” he adds.

ARC Energy says that c-axis wafers are the optimum orientation for LED applications and, compared with conventional a-axis technologies, c-axis growth leads to higher material utilization and lower overall costs. The firm’s offerings include CHES furnaces (highly automated c-axis growth furnaces for producing sapphire boules); turnkey solutions such as material handling, inspection, core fabrication and material recycling; and services such as setup and installation followed by localized training and support by field service and account management teams.

See related items:

ARC delivers 100th CHES furnace for sapphire crystal growth

Tags: ARC Energy Sapphire crystallization furnaces LEDs

Visit: www.arc-energy.com