24 February 2011

Kyma produces record 300mm AlN-on-Si template for GaN

Kyma Technologies Inc of Raleigh, NC, USA, which provides crystalline gallium nitride (GaN) and aluminum nitride (AlN) materials and related products and services, has commissioned its new high-volume AlN template manufacturing tool by producing what is said to be the world’s first 300mm (12-inch) diameter AlN-on-silicon template that is suitable for high-quality GaN growth.

While other large-area AlN processes have existed in the market for many years, Kyma claims that its process is the first that is capable of direct insertion into existing light-emitting diode (LED) and power device production processes that grow GaN and related alloys such as indium gallium nitride (InGaN) and aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN).

Designed and constructed by chief engineer Dr Bob Metzger, the new AlN template tool was incorporates many of the features of, as well as improvements to, Kyma’s patented and proprietary III-N Physical Vapor Deposition of NanoColumns (PVDNC) technology, which the firm has used for more than 10 years. Kyma initially used PVDNC technology for its bulk GaN development efforts, until 2006 when it began supplying AlN templates to the commercial market. Due to the system’s flexible design and Kyma’s long experience with PVDNC for nitride growth applications, it is also possible to run additional template substrates (such as sapphire, patterned sapphire, and silicon carbide) in the AlN process.

“Market interest in our AlN templates has grown rapidly over the last 18 months, especially in the LED sector, where significant LED improvements have been observed by customers using our PVDNC AlN templates,” says chief technology officer & VP business development Dr Ed Preble. “Specific improvements cited include: improved wavelength and brightness binning, lower defect density in the LED active region, higher device thermal conductivity, and up to 30% higher MOCVD system throughput,” he adds.

“This new tool increases our capacity 10-fold for 2”, 3” and 4” wafers; enables us to address the growing demand for larger 150mm and 200mm diameters; and also further raises the bar with its 300mm capability,” Preble continues. “While we acknowledge that work remains to improve the deposition uniformity for 300mm sizes, we are positively thrilled with the uniformity and repeatability of the 2” through 200mm sizes and look forward to qualification of the new tool with our customers.”

Kyma also plans to demonstrate large-diameter AlN templates on sapphire and to release the new AlN template tool for full production in the coming weeks.

Tags: Kyma GaN GaN substrates AlN substrates AlN-on-Si template

Visit: www.kymatech.com

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