Riber secures production system order in Europe
MBE specialist Riber has announced that French company Almae Technologies has placed an order for a production MBE system.
Almae, established in 2016 as an industrial spin-off from III-V Lab (a joint industrial research laboratory of Nokia, Thales, and CEA-Leti), placed this order to enhance its production capabilities for advanced photonic components.
This new order continues a long-standing partnership, initiated with Riber's delivery of a Gas Source MBE (GSMBE) system to Almae Technologies in 2019. Riber says it underscores the reliability and relevance of its MBE solutions for manufacturing ultra-high-speed InP photonic chipsl for next-generation datacom infrastructures and broader future connectivity solutions.
The GSMBE, an advanced variant of MBE technology, is particularly well-suited for the rigorous requirements of multi-epitaxy processes typical in photonic applications. These processes demand high machine stability, reproducibility, and uniformity. A close collaboration between Almae Technologies and Riber has driven significant productivity optimisations for GSMBE systems.
By combining Almae’s process expertise with Riber’s technical know-how, advancements have been achieved in system design, integrated instrumentation, and process control. These innovations have further solidified Almae’s confidence in choosing Riber for a new GSMBE system.
According to Jean Louis Gentner, CEO of Almae Technologies, "Almae’s ambition is to become a global leader in advanced photonic solutions for ultra-high-speed fibre optic networks, which are essential for tomorrow’s society. Almae’s development relies on innovative processes using GSMBE, providing our products with a differentiated competitive advantage in performance. Acquiring this new system marks an important milestone in developing our industrial platform and will significantly boost our productivity in a highly competitive market."
Annie Geoffroy, chair and CEO of Riber, adds: "This new order from Almae Technologies strengthens our strategic partnership established in 2017 and reflects the renewed confidence in our MBE solutions. By enabling Almae to expand its production capacity, Riber confirms its role as a key enabler in the semiconductor industry's transformation and its ability to address the growing demands of this rapidly evolving sector. This successful collaboration demonstrates our capacity to deliver stable, high-performance, and optimised systems that meet the most stringent requirements of our customers."
