- News
11 February 2011
Thermal Technology sells 59 sapphire crystal growers to Taiwan, Korea and China for LED substrates
Thermal Technology LLC of Santa Rosa, CA, USA, which designs and manufactures crystal growth systems and high-temperature vacuum and controlled-atmosphere furnaces for the processing of metals, ceramics, glass and quartz, says that it recently received 59 orders for its Model K1 90kg sapphire crystal grower from customers in Taiwan, Korea and China. In total, these growers will produce 5.2 million TIE (two-in-equivalents) per year.
The firm claims that the Model K1 advances beyond the traditional Kyropoulos process and out-performs other sapphire crystal growth methods currently on the market, such as HEM (heat exchanger method) or Bridgman.
“I recently returned from our customer’s site in Taiwan where they ceremoniously unveiled a perfect 90kg crystal grown in our K1 system,” says president & CEO Matt Mede. “They own 14 K1 systems, which are being used for LED substrate production,” he adds.
No other domestic (US) producer of sapphire crystal growth technology has machines in successful production, according to Mede. “Previously, the Russian growers were the industry standard. The superiority of our design, crystal size and tool capability are quickly making Thermal Technology the industry leader in this market sector,” he claims.
Thermal Technology’s new Model K1 Crystal Grower is designed for LED substrate production. Its short cycle time makes it the most productive grower commercially available, it is claimed. To satisfy the high demand of the rapidly growing sapphire market, the firm says that it is shipping systems weekly.
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Sapphire crystal growers Sapphire substrates
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