OIPT launches Atomfab high-volume ALD for GaN power device passivation

UK-based plasma etch and deposition processing system maker Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology (OIPT) has launched a plasma atomic layer deposition (ALD) high-volume manufacturing (HVM) solution delivering what is said to be a step change needed to address fundamental challenges in the gallium nitride (GaN) power device industry.

Gallium nitride devices are enabling the next generation of efficient power electronic devices for applications such as compact consumer power supplies, 5G networks, electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy conversion. Although GaN devices are more efficient and higher performance than existing technologies, there are manufacturing yield and scalability challenges that need to be addressed to deliver reliable devices at a competitive cost.

A key challenge is a consistently high-quality gate passivation. OIPT says that Atomfab delivers this with high throughput and low cost of ownership (CoO), highlighting the following aspects:

passivation and dielectric properties enable the demanding device performance critical for key applications;
remote plasma delivers a reproducible GaN interface - Atomfab precisely controls the plasma to protect the underlying sensitive GaN substrate;
high throughput delivered by a high-deposition-rate process on a high-uptime HVM platform specifically developed for GaN power applications.

OIPT says that the significantly reduced cost per wafer that Atomfab delivers is enabled by numerous technical innovations including a patent-pending fast remote plasma source.

The firm adds that Atomfab fulfils the customer needs on a single wafer platform with SEMI-standard cluster configurations and improved process controls for the latest compound semiconductor solutions.

“Atomfab provides many key benefits to our GaN device manufacturing customers including significant CoO reduction, increased yield and excellent film quality and device performance,” claims strategic business development director Klaas Wisniewski, adding that OIPT has now applied its compound semiconductor plasma processing expertise to a HVM platform.

“We’ve been highly commended for our unique plasma ALD solutions and have listened to our HVM customers to take these solutions to the next level,” says managing director Mike Gansser-Potts. “Atomfab provides these HVM solutions to our customers”.

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ULVAC and OIPT collaborating to bring atomic-scale processing to Japanese power and RF markets

Tags: OIPT ALD

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