APA Optics "streamlines" GaN manufacturing
APA Optics, the manufacturer of GaN- and AlGaN-based UV detectors, is to concentrate on making custom devices and stop making standard detectors.
The action has been taken because standard GaN and AlGaN detectors are now available much more cheaply from non-American suppliers. Up to 10 positions in APA's current workforce of 53 will be eliminated as a result.
"We will only perform MOCVD growth and processing of custom AlGaN detectors that are not routinely available from outside resources," said Peter Nussbaum, APA's manager for GaN products.
"These custom detectors will be packaged by our off-shore partners and/or suppliers," Nussbaum added.
While phasing out growth and processing operations at its Blaine facility, as well as packaging operations in Aberdeen, South Dakota, APA is leasing space in Veeco Compound Semiconductor's process integration facility, where it plans to make detectors in the future.
The two companies have agreed a three-year lease.
The facility is located in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, near to APA's Blaine office.
APA says that the MOCVD system housed at Veeco will be sufficient for its material growth requirements once fully operational. The reactor can grow material on six two-inch wafers simultaneously.
Operating the MOCVD machine at Veeco will allow APA access to a range of characterization tools available at the White Bear Lake facility.
APA also makes components for fiber-optic communications applications.
