IVWorks first to commercialise 8-inch GaN nanowire epiwafers
IVWorks, a Korean GaN epitaxy firm, claims to be the first company in the world to develop and implement mass production of 8-inch InGaN/GaN nanowire epiwafers.
This achievement is expected to serve as a foundation in artificial photosynthesis panels that produce hydrogen using only sunlight and water. The nanowire structure increases the reactive surface area, maximising photocatalytic efficiency, and when implemented on large-diameter wafers, it can significantly boost hydrogen output.
Precisely controlling nanowires at roughly 1/2000 the thickness of a human hair and growing them on large-diameter wafers has been extremely challenging, and until now, no company had successfully commercialised this technology.
In 2023, IVWorks established a partnership with a US-based green hydrogen company for artificial photosynthesis panel epiwafers, under which it has since been developing large-diameter growth technology to produce the nanowire structures designed by its partner.
it's through this collaboration that the initial 3-inch prototype solar panels have been scaled up to 8-inch wafers using IVWorks’ proprietary technology.
Looking ahead, IVWorks is now accelerating the development of 12-inch large-diameter nanowire epiwafers, which is expected to increase hydrogen production by approximately 2.3 times.
