6 January 2016

AKHAN deploys 200mm manufacturing process in new diamond-based chip fab

After relocating its global headquarters from Chicago, AKHAN Semiconductor Inc is deploying 200mm manufacturing equipment and process in its new production facility in Gurnee, IL, USA (formally opened in mid-November), continuing its preparation for delivering diamond semiconductor based-technology products to the firm's first commercial customer this quarter.

AKHAN Semiconductor Inc was formed in early 2013 as a subsidiary of AKHAN Technologies Inc, which was founded in 2007 by Adam Khan to commercialize Diamond Lattice Technology for diamond-based semiconductor devices. The firm's IP portfolio combines AKHAN's Miraj Diamond portfolio with low-temperature diamond deposition technology developed by Argonne National Laboratory's Center for Nanoscale Materials.

"The proven, high-yielding 200mm semiconductor manufacturing process is proving ideal for the production of a wide range of semiconductors – sensors, MEMS, analog, power management – that are embedded in the rapidly growing number of connected devices, from smartphones and tablets to cars, home appliances, wearables, and commercial and industrial applications," says AKHAN's chief operating officer Carl Shurboff.

According to market research firm Gartner Inc, the number of Internet-connected devices (now referred to as the Internet of Things) will grow from 6.3 billion in 2016 to more than 20 billion in 2020.

This explosion in connected products is driving high global demand for all types of new semiconductors to power the new era of connected computing, says AKHAN. Industry association Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) noted in its 'Global 200mm Fab Outlook to 2018' that 200mm fab capacity is expected to grow from 5.2 million wafer starts per month in 2015 to more than 5.4 million in 2018.

"The timing for our diamond-based semiconductor technology's market debut could not be better," believes AKHAN's CEO Adam Khan. "By using man-made diamonds at the core of our new chip technology, we are ushering in a new generation of semiconductor solutions that operate at higher temperatures, are thinner and require less power. These are exactly the attributes required for all the products that make up the Internet of Things," he adds. 

AKHAN reckon that its diamond semiconductor based technology will enable a new generation of commercial, industrial and consumer products such as flexible and transparent displays that can be used in wearables and thinner consumer devices that last longer. On the commercial side, the firm is already developing new diamond windows for industrial, defense and aerospace applications.

AKHAN's technology is based on a process that uses man-made diamond rather than silicon to produce chip materials. It is a result of the marriage of two breakthroughs: the ability to use nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films and a new doping process the makes it possible to use NCD as a semiconductor material.

AKHAN says that it is currently actively hiring to staff its new facility, which is expected to employee 100 people in the next two years.

See related items:

AKHAN opens HQ and production facility for diamond-based semiconductor technology

AKHAN announces exclusive patent licensing agreement with Argonne

AKHAN licenses Argonne's low-temperature diamond deposition technology

Tags: Diamond

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