Nitronex to sell GaN-on-silicon epiwafers
GaN-on-silicon specialist Nitronex Corporation, based in Raleigh, NC, is now selling 100mm diameter GaN epitaxial wafers.
"We realized it was time to exploit the technology we already had to help others build their next-generation devices, just as we are doing with our commercial RF power transistors," said Christopher Rauh, Nitronex s VP of sales and marketing.
GaN-based materials, which are well-suited to high-temperature, high-frequency and high-voltage applications, have been a focus of intense development efforts for electronic devices in recent years.
However, at present sapphire and SiC are the substrates of choice, and these have been used in the manufacture of commercially-available products such as LEDs and laser diodes.
Applications and markets that remain to be penetrated include high-temperature and Hall sensors, switches, MEMS, high-frequency MMICs, military radar and communications applications and RF power transistors.
"Using large-area, 100mm, silicon substrates provides the economic benefits of large wafer scaling, as well as cheaper wafer procurement costs in comparison to other substrates," said Edwin Piner, Nitronex s director of materials engineering.
"These benefits are what will ultimately allow for widespread GaN-based device commercialization."
Earlier this year, France-based Picogiga International, a subsidiary of Soitec, released a family of advanced AlGaN/GaN epitaxial layers on 2-, 3- and 4-inch silicon substrates.
