IFW Dresden chooses Agnitron tools
The MOCVD and ALD Competence Centre at the IFW Dresden, Germany, has selected the Agilis 100 MOCVD system to support its research on precursor chemistry and development of MOCVD and ALD processes.
IFW Dresden is developing innovative chemistries for a variety of new semiconductor device categories. Selecting the Agnitron tool enabled IFW Dresden to solve the challenges of deploying newly synthesised, unique, low vapour pressure precursors in a flexible R&D MOCVD platform.
Anjana Devi (pictured below), director of the Institute for Materials Chemistry at IFW Dresden, recognised this unique version of the Agnitron Agilis 100, which combines a newly developed apparatus for thermally controlling the special precursors from the ampule to the wafer via a patented showerhead in this equipment.
“We found partnering with Agnitron provided us with the flexibility we need and the support required to execute our plan to synthesise and test new precursors in a commercial reactor,’ she said.
The Centre’s initial focus will be on growing AlN alloyed with Sc employing the new metalorganic precursors being developed. ScAlN alloy is an ultra-wide-bandgap semiconductor with dramatically boosted piezoelectric coefficient and strong spontaneous polarisation. ScAlN is expected to play a key role in next-generation high-frequency, high-power, and acoustic semiconductor devices. It is enabler for innovative power electronics with improved bandwidth, signal quality, and thermal stability.
Harish Parala, who heads the Nanostructured Thin Film Materials Research Team at IFW Dresden, said: “Due to the success and performance of the Agilis 100 installed and growing material, we’ve chosen Agnitron to provide us with a second MOCVD system to further enhance our precursor development for oxide thin films. The second growth system will allow us to use and test our new gallium chemistries to grow Ga2O3 thin films.”
Ga2O3 is another ultra-wide-bandgap semiconductor, for which Agnitron holds the world record for the purity of this material grown by MOCVD. The combination of IFW-Dresden’s chemistry process and Agnitron's world-leadership in Ga2O3 MOCVD equipment and process makes for a perfect partnership.
“IFW Dresden represents the ideal partner: a world-class research team with excellent facilities for creating cutting-edge materials perfect for the Agilis 100 platform which employs patented showerhead and low vapour pressure chemistry delivery system,” said Andrei Osinsky, founder and CEO of Agnitron Technology.
“We’re thrilled to enable their ScAlN roadmap today and grateful for their confidence in scaling the oxide program with a second system. Together, we’re turning promising materials into reliable, industrially relevant processes.”
