EpiValley and Forepi step up wafer production
Korea-based epiwafer manufacturer EpiValley has ordered three high-volume MOCVD reactors from Aixtron, as it looks to step up GaN LED production for new applications.
Aixtron will deliver the three CRIUS tools, made by its Thomas Swan subsidiary, to EpiValley s headquarters in Kwangju City. Each tool is designed for 30x2 inch wafer fabrication.
EpiValley wants to ramp up GaN epiwafer production quickly to meet the demand for side-view LEDs that are set to be used in display backlight units (BLUs) and solid-state lighting applications.
Epivalley, which makes blue, green and ultraviolet-emitting chips, bought its first CRIUS reactor from Aixtron almost exactly one year ago. CEO D.J. Park says that this initial tool was up and running in a very short time.
Meanwhile, the Taiwanese GaN epiwafer producer Formosa Epitaxy (Forepi) has also invested in new MOCVD kit, although it has decided to buy from Aixtron s rival, Veeco Instruments.
Forepi will install two TurboDisc K300 systems for high-volume wafer production, as it looks to scale up LED fabrication for outdoor display, lighting and keypad backlight applications.
Veeco s K300 reactor is one of its latest product offerings, and is claimed by the US company to be "future-proof", in that it can be upgraded with a minimum of fuss. The system retains the GaNzilla II reactor platform used in its previous series of MOCVD tools.
MBE equipment vendor Riber has also seen some order activity, with an unspecified Japanese university set to install one of the French company's Compact 21 research machines.
