TDI Achieves Compound Semiconductor Breakthrough with 35mm True Bulk Gallium Nitride Substrate

Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. Technologies and Devices International, Inc., a privately held Maryland corporation (TDI), today announced the achievement of a major compound semiconductor material growth breakthrough by producing the industry s first true Gallium Nitride (GaN) bulk substrate. Typical applications for these pure substrates include blue-spectrum high brightness light emitting diodes (HB-LEDs) and semiconductor "blue" laser diodes, plus a variety of advanced electronic devices. TDI s sample boules, and polished wafers sliced from the new GaN boules, are amazingly large, measuring 1.5 inches (35 millimeters) in diameter, and are of excellent quality. Initial samples have been grown, sliced, and polished with consistency, and have been properly characterized as single crystal material.

"This is, indeed, a true breakthrough for Group III Nitride development," said Vladimir A. Dmitriev, President and CEO of TDI. Dr. Dmitriev is a noted international wide bandgap material science pioneer. "With the right commercial development partners, within one year TDI s bulk GaN could be the basis of next generation commercial blue-spectrum high brightness light emitting diodes and blue-spectrum semiconductor lasers, as well as finding use in a wide variety of advanced electronic devices such as cellular base stations."

TDI is developing proprietary, patent-pending crystal growth and wafer fabrication technology to commercialize their new low defect density GaN substrates. Initial samples of TDI s "True Bulk GaN" were previewed recently at the International Conference on Nitride Semiconductors (ICNS) in Denver, Colorado, and received a warm reception by technical colleagues, especially from device and characterization professionals anxious to work with samples of the new starting material. While various research facilities worldwide are working toward the goal of true bulk GaN, the material has heretofore been non-existent, but is highly sought after by advanced electronic and photonic device designers.

The term "blue-spectrum" refers to HB-LEDs and laser diodes that emit green, cyan, blue, violet, ultraviolet, or white colors. White LEDs, in particular, are destined to replace traditional forms of illumination, including the common incandescent light bulb. Strategies Unlimited of Mountain View, California has forecast the market for GaN-based blue, green, and white HB-LEDs to grow to $2.34 billion by 2009. Blue laser diode-based higher density DVD players, the successor to today s DVDs, are expected to first appear on the market in 2002, and according to Strategies Unlimited, the first recordable players and drives are expected to appear in 2003, with revenues forecast to reach over $2 billion by 2009. Sales of GaN photodetectors are forecast to reach $18.1 million by 2009 with the total GaN electronic device market estimated by Strategies to reach $436 million by 2009. After 2009, all of the above markets are expected to climb even more dramatically. GaN electronic device types include RF/microwave, power switches, power rectifiers, high voltage rectifiers, and high temperature devices. GaN developers are in strong agreement that bulk GaN is especially desirable for those categories of electronic devices along with blue spectrum laser diodes.

"The performance and lifetimes of all GaN-based device designs will be significantly enhanced by using bulk GaN versus GaN layers grown epitaxially on non-native substrates such as silicon carbide (SiC) or sapphire. To date, those have been our industry s only alternatives," added Dr. Dmitriev. The technology community is in full accord that GaN epitaxy grown on a true GaN native substrate will produce exceptional results in next generation circuits and light emitters.

TDI s process and progress have received significant support thus far from the US Department of Defense s Office of Naval Research, BMDO and other US government funding sources. Tangential technical development has come from a variety of research and development teaming efforts with especially noteworthy research and educational institutions and government labs, including Cornell University, NRL, and NIST in the USA, and Erlangen University in Germany.

TDI s bulk GaN material has been recently characterized as a single crystal structure, verified by transmission electron microscopy at Arizona State University. According to Professor S. Mahajan who performed the characterization, "These single crystal GaN samples have fairly high crystal quality with low dislocation density."

TDI is in active discussions with potential commercial development and manufacturing partners for volume production of their proprietary GaN bulk growth process. For pictures of the starting boules, slicing, polishing, etching and blue light emitted from the material, visit TDI s website: www.tdii.com.

Technologies and Devices International, Inc. was founded in 1997 to commercialize basic research and development in crystal growth and device fabrication of wide bandgap semiconductors. In addition to its "True Bulk GaN" project, TDI is developing various bulk crystals, epitaxial structures, and devices over a range of these materials, primarily for applications in short wavelength optoelectronic and high power semiconductor electronics. TDI also manufactures and sells gallium nitride (GaN), aluminum nitride (AlN) and silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial wafers.

Contact for more information: Katie Tsvetkov, TDI, Inc. Tel. 301 208 8342, Fax 301 330 5400, Katie@tdii.com

Background Information

To accompany attached press release: TDI Achieves Compound Semiconductor Breakthrough with 35mm True Bulk Gallium Nitride Substrate

Fact #1: The compound semiconductor industry has long-awaited commercially viable GaN bulk substrates.

Fact #2: Until now, GaN is the only commercial compound semiconductor material for which there has been no native substrate.

Fact #3: All commercial solid state blue spectrum LEDs and laser diodes, and many leading edge wide bandgap semiconductor devices, are made from GaN material.

Fact #4: Previously, GaN-based devices could only be achieved by growing GaN layers on "foreign" substrates such as sapphire, silicon carbide (SiC), or silicon because bulk GaN as a commercially viable substrate has been non-existent.

Fact #5: TDI s True Bulk GaN is changing that. The achievement by TDI of 1.5-inch (35mm) true bulk GaN is about to crash through the heretofore closed doors to amazing new, energy-efficient devices such as high power blue spectrum LEDs, blue spectrum laser diodes and electronic devices that perform beyond the capabilities of many conventional compound semiconductors and well beyond silicon.

Contact for more information:
Katie Tsvetkov TDI, Inc. 8660 Dakota Dr. Gaithersburg, MD 20877 USA
Tel. 301 208 8342
Fax 301 330 5400
Email: Katie@tdii.com
E-mail: Katie@tdii.com
Web site: http://www.tdii.com