Cambridge University Selects Veeco MOCVD System
University of Cambridge, UK, has ordered Veeco Instruments' Propel PowerGaN MOCVD System for GaN-on-silicon power electronics and LED research and development.
The system will be installed at the Cambridge Centre for GaN, which is led by Colin Humphreys. Since 2000, Humphreys has carried out extensive studies of InGaN quantum wells used in LED development. GaN-on-silicon technology is considered a potential cost saving alternative to GaN-on-sapphire technology.
"After careful consideration, we concluded that Veeco's Propel MOCVD system provides a distinct advantage over other systems to improve and expand our GaN-on-silicon R&D capabilities," said Humphreys, director of research at the University of Cambridge. "GaN is the most important semiconductor material since silicon for power electronics and LEDs. The Propel PowerGaN platform enables the growth of high performance device structures in a clean and stable process environment with low particle defects."
Based in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge, the Cambridge Centre for GaN is one of a small number of places in the world to have, in close proximity and on the same site, GaN growth equipment, extensive advanced electron microscopy characterisation facilities, advanced X-ray diffraction characterisation facilities, atomic force microscopy, photoluminescence (PL) for measuring optical properties, Hall effect equipment for measuring electrical properties, and basic theory for understanding in detail physical properties.
According to IHS Research, the GaN power electronics device market is expected to grow at greater than 90 percent compound annual growth rate from 2014 to 2020 as new devices are applied to power supplies, consumer electronics, automotive and other applications.
"The Propel PowerGaN single wafer system enables the development of highly-efficient GaN-based power electronic devices that we believe will accelerate the industry's transition from R&D to high volume production," said Jim Jenson, senior vice president, Veeco MOCVD Operations.
Veeco's new Propel Power GaN MOCVD system is designed specifically for the power electronics industry. Featuring a single-wafer 200mm reactor platform, capable of processing 6 and 8in wafers, the system deposits high-quality GaN films for the production of power electronic devices.
