23 June 2011

Rubicon’s Malaysian polishing plant starts volume production of large-diameter sapphire 

Rubicon Technology Inc of Bensenville, IL, USA, which makes monocrystalline sapphire substrates and products for the LED, RFIC, semiconductor and optical industries, has announced two critical milestones that enable its new facility in Penang, Malaysia to move into volume production of 6- and 8-inch polished sapphire wafers.

The facility recently completed qualification of its 6-inch wafers by a key customer, and also completed an ISO certification audit. Both milestones enable the Malaysia facility to move into volume production of 6-inch polished wafers, which are in great demand as LED chip makers continue to migrate to larger-diameter substrates to realize greater efficiencies. The facility is also capable of processing and polishing 8-inch wafers, which Rubicon provides to customers in R&D volumes.

Rubicon says that its customers demand consistent quality and often require vendors to achieve and maintain globally recognized quality standards, such as those set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The Malaysia facility recently passed the rigorous audit by ISO inspectors with zero findings and has been recommended for ISO 9001:2008 certification, which is expected to be formally issued upon final review by the registrar.

Most semiconductor makers also require suppliers to re-qualify products when a new manufacturing facility is opened. Rubicon has been in the re-qualification process with a number of existing customers that have previously purchased 6-inch wafers produced in its US facility. The Malaysian facility has now been qualified with a major customer. The qualification process involves the production of LED chips on Rubicon’s 6-inch sapphire wafers and rigorous testing of those chips in various applications.

Rubicon’s Malaysia facility, combined with its new crystal growth facility in Batavia, IL (both leveraging large-diameter sapphire) were established to deliver the sapphire capacity necessary to support the growing demand for LEDs in the consumer electronics and general lighting industries. “Our facility in Malaysia further increases our ability to deliver large-diameter sapphire wafers in large volumes to customers worldwide,” says president & CEO Raja Parvez.

Market research firm iSuppli expects the global LED market to nearly double to almost $14.3bn by 2013, driven by the penetration of LEDs into the general illumination market (including light bulbs). LEDs are a popular option for backlighting screens from HDTVs, traffic lights and large displays as well as in a broad range of consumer devices including tablets, notebooks, laptops, mobile phones, navigation devices, digital music players, digital photo frames, digital cameras and keypads. LED use in general lighting applications is also increasing significantly, particularly in street lighting, industrial lighting and architectural lighting.

“The ability of our new Malaysia operation to fabricate larger-diameter high-quality polished wafers perfectly complements our existing large-diameter crystal growth capability and makes Rubicon the world's leading vertically integrated provider of large-diameter sapphire substrates,” reckons Parvez. “The location and capabilities of our manufacturing facilities around the globe minimizes the risk of business interruption while lowering cost and providing proximity to our valued Asian customers,” he adds.

Rubicon says that its expansion into Asia demonstrates what it claims is its leadership role in the production of large-diameter sapphire wafers. The firm currently has the capability to produce polished sapphire wafers up to 12-inches in diameter. The transition to large-diameter wafers in LED production has started with several tier-one LED makers announcing a move to producing chips on 6-inch polished wafers.

Tags: Rubicon Sapphire substrates

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