Hong Kong University of Science and Technology offers brighter future for local optoelectronics industry

Aachen, Germany. State-of-the-art technology for the manufacture of high-brightness inorganic blue/green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) will be developed by researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) to help the local optoelectronics industry sharpen their edge in a fast-growing world market.

The three-year project has been awarded HK$ 15 million by the Innovation and Technology Fund with a matching sponsorship of HK$ 1.5 million by three local LED companies: COTCO, Lighthouse Technology Limited and Strong Base Investment Ltd.

The project is also supported by an equipment grant from the German company AIXTRON AG, the worldwide leading supplier of MOCVD equipment. HKUST purchased an AIX 2000 HT reactor with a capacity of 6x2" wafers. MOCVD systems are essential for the production of reliable, large-quantity and highly efficient LED structures. AIXTRON will also collaborate with HKUST on technology transfer for the system application. Another company, EpiChem Inc, provides support of the high-purity metalorganics needed for the MOCVD process.

LEDs are semiconductor devices that emit colored lights. They have the advantages of small size, high brightness, low power consumption, longer lifetime, greater reliability and flexibility in designing new lighting applications. They have been used to replace conventional incandescent traffic lights and color light bulbs for special applications. Their high brightness makes them ideal for applications in large-area display panels (outdoor video screens), traffic lights and signages as well as backlighting for consumer electronics products (mobile phones and electronic games).

One of the most outstanding LED displays is the Nasdaq Marketside Tower in New York s Times Square, which contains almost 19 million high-brightness LEDs. In Hong Kong, the video screen at Times Square in Causeway Bay and display panels in MTR compartments are all LED applications. Currently production costs of some new colors is relatively high but it is believed that mass production will reduce the cost substantially.

The project is designed to help local industry develop new products, nurture local talents and ultimately, spawn new investment in the LED chip fabrication market. HKUST researchers will collaborate with international and local LED companies to investigate and develop technology for prototype production of inorganic LED structures that emit in the blue/green spectral regimes, advanced LED models that are in high demand. These LEDs are made with compound semiconductors, materials with relatively high complexity that have found increasing use for photonic and high frequency device applications.

"Currently local LED companies have to rely on overseas suppliers for processed LED chips as Hong Kong lacks both the technology and infrastructure to develop its own inorganic LEDs," says project coordinator Prof Kei May Lau, an expert in compound semiconductor materials and devices. She joined the Electrical and Electronics Department last Fall after an eighteen year tenure at the faculty of University of Massachusetts/Amherst.

"Through the project, we will design, fabricate and test prototype LEDs before transferring the technology to industry. Local companies can in turn design their own devices for their specific applications in terms of color, brightness, and efficiency, to be integrated with their systems. All in all, they can produce LED products with unique features, lower cost and greater flexibility," she says. "Moreover, Hong Kong will also benefit from a pool of locally trained experts specializing in LED device design and processing," she adds.

AIXTRON offers a wide range of epitaxial systems for MOVPE, VPE and LPE from R&D-oriented systems up to large-scale Planetary Reactor® production systems for up to 25x4" or 9x6" wafers. AIXTRON has sold over 500 systems worldwide and is represented in over 15 countries. The company provides an extensive service and support network for maintenance as well as upgrading of its systems.

AIXTRON is a supplier to leading industrial clients such Agere, Alcatel, Anritsu, ATMI, AXT, Epistar, EPSON, Honeywell, IQE, ITT, JDS-Uniphase, Kopin, LumiLeds, Mitsubishi Electric, Motorola, Nortel, Osram, Samsung, Siemens, Showa Denko, Sumitomo Electric, Thales, UEC, VPEC and numerous Japanese corporations. AIXTRON systems have also been installed in many of the world s most renowned research institutes including JPL, Sandia Nat. Lab., Fraunhofer Institute, ITRI-OES, CNRS. AIXTRON is very active in advancing MOCVD technology through collaborations and joint R&D projects with major partners worldwide.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Kei May Lau Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering Tel: +86-852-2358-7049 Fax: +86-852-2358-1485 E-mail: eekmlau@ust.hk or Octavia Schirmer Aixtron AG Tel: +49.241.8909.474 Fax: +49.241.8909.149 E-mail: ocs@aixtron.com