Aixtron unveils 5x200mm GaN-on-Si technology
Aixtron, Germany, has introduced a 5x200mm GaN-on-Si technology package for its AIX G5 Planetary Reactor platform.
The AIX G5+ was designed and created in the semiconductor equipment maker's R&D laboratory and consists of specially designed reactor hardware and process capabilities.
Now available as a part of the AIXG5 product family, any existing G5 system can be upgraded to this latest version, says Aixtron.
“GaN-on-Si technology is a hot topic for MOCVD users and manufacturers today,” says Rainer Beccard, vice president of marketing at Aixtron. “It is the technology of choice for the emerging power electronics market segment, and also a very promising candidate for future high performance and low cost high brightness LED manufacturing.”
“The wafer size and material plays a crucial role when it comes to cost effective manufacturing processes, and thus the transition to 200mm standard silicon wafers is a logical next step on the manufacturing road maps, as it offers unique economies of scale,” he adds.
As Frank Wischmeyer, vice president and program manager of power electronics at Aixtron explains, company researchers developed the new technology by conducting a simulation program, that enabled them to design fundamentally new hardware components that provide unique process performance in the company's 5x200mm processes.
“The hardware is still compatible with the well-proven AIX G5 reactor platform and the results are extremely stable processes, providing much better uniformity of material properties and enabling higher device yield than any other MOCVD platform, whilst offering a reactor capacity of 5x200mm,” he adds.
According to the company, initial feedback from customers confirms the success of the technological development.
Many have noted the fully rotationally symmetrical uniformity pattern on all five 200mm wafers and the use of standard thickness silicon substrates. What's more, the controlled wafer bow behaviour is said to be exactly what they require for silicon-style manufacturing.
“This uniformity pattern has been an inherent feature of Aixtron's Planetary Reactor technology, which we can now successfully obtain on 200mm GaN-on-Si wafers,” underlines Wischmeyer.
