2 November 2011

SETi prepares high-volume manufacturing of UV LEDs

Sensor Electronic Technology Inc (SETi) of Columbia, SC, USA has put in motion an expansion plan to both expand its R&D efforts and to transition its production line to high-volume manufacturing, making it what it claims is the first high-volume supplier of ultraviolet (UV) LEDs shorter than 365nm, initially scaling to supply quantities of more than 100 million LEDs per year.

SETi says it was first to market with short-wavelength UV LEDs in 2004 and has since supplier a portfolio of LEDs and high-power LED lamps from 240nm to 355nm.

SETi currently operates a 15,000ft2 ISO9001-certified facility, where it runs a vertically integrated R&D and small-volume production line with epitaxial growth, chip fab, packaging and test and analysis, plus a prototyping line for integration of its LEDs into complete systems.

The first phase of the expansion, which is currently underway, involves retrofitting this facility to 20,000ft2 and converting it into the firm’s R&D center. The expansion in this facility will be focused predominantly around additional cleanroom space for chip fab and device packaging, where new mask designs, processing techniques and packaging solutions will be developed to further improve the performance of SETi’s UVTOP and UVClean devices and to ensure that SETi maintains its position in the UV LED market.

SETi recently closed on the purchase of a new property, where it will focus its high-volume manufacturing lines. The firm’s growth plans include expansion of this new facility to 130,000ft2. Initially, it will house SETi’s proprietary production metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactors, where the company will focus on the high-volume manufacturing of its migration-enhanced MOCVD (MEMOCVD) process that will be used for the scale up in volume of its UV LEDs and a new Engineering Center for the development of new applications and the production of custom solutions.

Tags: Sensor Electronic Technology UV LEDs

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