29 May 2018

Eta Research develops free-standing GaN substrates

© Semiconductor Today Magazine / Juno PublishiPicture: Disco’s DAL7440 KABRA laser saw.

Eta Research of Shanghai, China, which was founded in 2015 to develop free-standing gallium nitride (GaN) wafers, says that it is now able to produce 100mm GaN wafers.

Eta uses HVPE to produce GaN wafers. A key process technology is the method of GaN separation from the substrate. Eta has developed a unique method, not used by other companies in the industry it is claimed, which is said to greatly improve the yields and enhance the crystal quality. Additionally, the firm uses high-quality polishing equipment purchased from a vendor that has experience of polishing GaN wafers.

The current production equipment can produce entire uncracked 100mm GaN wafers but, due to edge effects, the finished wafers must be cut to a smaller size. The firm will soon offer 2” and 3” GaN wafers for sale. It plans to retool to a larger size to produce 100mm finished GaN wafers by 2019.

Eta’s R&D lab is located in Shanghai, but construction is already underway on a high-capacity production facility in Tongling, Anhui Province.

“Our goal is to improve the energy efficiency and performance of GaN-based devices by using GaN substrates,” says CEO Troy Baker. “For that to happen on a large scale, GaN substrates must become widely available for a reasonable price,” he adds. “We intend to control the cost through our new high-yield separation process and the large scale of our new factory, while delivering a product with the characteristics – size, crystal quality, lattice curvature, electrical conductivity, and surface finish – that our customers require.”

Tags: HVPE GaN substrates

Visit: www.etaresearch.com