IQE transfers Translucent process to US plant
Semiconductor wafer and services company IQE has announced the successful transfer of Translucent's cREO growth technology to its North Carolina facility. It has also announced the demonstration of interface charge tuning using cREO for GaN products.
IQE licensed cREO (Rare Earth Oxide) technology from Translucent in September 2015. The cREO process is an IP-protected technique for manufacturing compound semiconductor on silicon wafers, in particular GaN on silicon. This enables the benefits of GaN to be combined with the scale benefits of the silicon chip manufacturing supply chain.
The first of these systems (production tool) has been installed at the facility in Greensboro and is now producing cREO templates on silicon. The template structural and morphological characteristics are an excellent match to previously achieved results by Translucent, according to IQE. The second (R&D) tool is due to be online in approximately one month.
The production tool will produce standard templates for the IQE group and select partners, with initial focus on III-N materials.
Using cREO templates IQE has also demonstrated that it is able to tune the interfacial characteristics for GaN on silicon. For RF applications, GaN on silicon typically exhibits an undesirable p-type channel at the GaN / silicon interface (parasitic channel) that detrimentally affects RF efficiency.
Using its patented technology, IQE has demonstrated that the parasitic channel can be completely eliminated. In addition, IQE has shown that growth conditions can be tuned to generate and rationally engineer an n-type layer between the GaN and silicon. This enables applications that require buried conductors for III-N on Si applications.
Rodney Pelzel, VP, IQE Group Technology commented:"We have demonstrated that we are able to rationally manipulate the cREO characteristics to tune the conductivity of the III-N / silicon interface. This is a significant enabler for GaN HEMT technology on Si for RF applications. In addition, it is an enabler for other III-N technology on Si such as RF filter technology.
"IQE is committed to fully exploiting cREO technology for GaN as well as other III-V and group IV materials. This technology offers exciting opportunities for fully realising III-V growth on silicon thereby eliminating the cost-prohibitive issue with native substrates such as InP. Furthermore, it enables heterointegration at the epi-level allowing previously incompatible materials systems to be successfully combined. cREO is an excellent complement to IQE's well-established wireless, photonics, power, and CMOS products and will enable novel solutions for our customers."
