6 April 2015

KaiStar buys Veeco EPIK700 MOCVD systems to boost LED production for general lighting

Epitaxial deposition and process equipment maker Veeco Instruments Inc of Plainview, NY, USA says that it has received an order for multiple TurboDisc EPIK700 gallium nitride (GaN) metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) systems from KaiStar Lighting Co Ltd of Xiamen, China (a joint venture between Taiwan's Epistar Corp and China's Shenzhen Kaifa Technology Co Ltd that began LED production in 2012). The systems will be used to ramp production of LEDs for the general lighting market.

"As an early adopter of Veeco's new EPIK700 MOCVD system [launched last September], we have seen its potential for significant production and cost-saving benefits for LED manufacturing," says Epistar's president Dr MJ Jou. "Late last year, we were able to seamlessly transfer our LED process and rapidly qualify the EPIK700 system for LED production in our Taiwan fab. We have now decided to expand our LED production at KaiStar in China with this new, highly productive MOCVD system," he adds. 

"Since its formation, KaiStar has been an important Veeco customer," says Jim Jenson, senior VP, Veeco MOCVD operations. "Their decision to use the award-winning EPIK700 reflects the performance, reliability and production-readiness of our newest MOCVD system," he adds. "We expect that 2015 will be the crossover year in which shipments of LEDs for general lighting will surpass shipments of LEDs for backlighting, with the Epistar companies being a significant driver of that trend."

Based on Veeco's proven TurboDisc technology and available in one- and two-reactor configurations, the EPIK700 MOCVD system is reckoned to be the LED industry's highest-productivity MOCVD system, reducing cost per wafer by up to 20% compared with previous generations. The system features technologies including the IsoFlange center injection flow and TruHeat wafer coil technologies, which provide homogeneous laminar flow and uniform temperature profile across the entire wafer carrier. These innovations produce wavelength uniformity to drive higher yields in a tighter bin. Veeco says that the EPIK700 system offers a 2.5x throughput advantage over other systems due to its large reactor size. Designed for mass production, it accommodates 31x4", 12x6" and 6x8" wafer carrier sizes. Users can easily transfer processes from existing TurboDisc systems to the EPIK700 MOCVD platform, enabling quick-start production of LEDs. Because of the flexible EPIK700 MOCVD platform, more upgrades, added benefits and future enhancements will continue to differentiate the system, reckons Veeco.

See related items:

Epistar qualifies Veeco's new EPIK700 MOCVD system for high-volume LED production

Veeco launches 31x4"/12x6"/6x8"-wafer EPIK700 GaN MOCVD system

KaiStar orders multiple Veeco MaxBright M MOCVD systems for its LED manufacturing ramp

KaiStar ramps LED production with order for multi- and single-chamber Veeco MOCVD systems

Tags: Veeco KaiStar MOCVD GaN HB-LEDs Epistar

Visit: www.veeco.com/mocvd

Visit: www.kaistar.com.cn