17 February 2011

Monocrystal ships 8” epi-ready sapphire to leading LED maker

Monocrystal Inc of Stavropol, Russia, which manufactures large-diameter sapphire substrates for LED and RFIC applications (as well as screen printing metallization pastes for silicon-based solar cells), has shipped 8-inch c-plane epi-ready sapphire substrates to one of the world’s leading LED makers.

Monocrystal says that it was only recently that LED industry players considered transitioning from using 2-inch sapphire substrates in production to larger-diameter 3- or 4-inch substrates, while the use of 6-inch substrates seemed to be quite a remote prospect and any discussion of 8-inch substrates was mostly theoretical. However, now, leading manufacturers are already produce LEDs using 6-inch sapphire substrates and are beginning to consider 8-inch substrates too.

“It took leading LED manufacturers three years after the 6-inch sapphire substrates first became available on the market to launch R&D on their use for LED production,” says CEO Oleg Kachalov. “The period was shorter for the 8-inch substrates — Monocrystal was the first to introduce and ship them to a MOCVD system manufacturer in August 2008, and about two years later we have supplied our premium 8-inch c-plane epi-ready sapphire substrates for R&D use at the forefront of LED manufacturing,” he adds.

“The market dynamics in the LED space indicate a further shift toward the use of larger-diameter substrates, as well as the growing role of suppliers capable of meeting the high-technology standards of the today's LED market,” Kachalov continues.

“Monocrystal has been supplying 8-inch sapphire substrates for R&D on RFIC applications for the last two years, and we have gained considerable experience in large-diameter sapphire substrate production,” says VP sales & marketing Mikhail Berest. “We are glad to be able now to support also our LED customers in making a technological breakthrough which will help bring forth the widespread use of LED lighting,” he reckons.

Last December, Monocrystal also announced the availability of ultra-large 10-inch c-plane epi-ready sapphire substrates.

See related items:

Monocrystal launches 10-inch sapphire substrate

Tags: Monocrystal Sapphire substrates LEDs GaN

Visit: www.monocrystal.com

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