Nov 23 2007
Installation of the 1st nitride MBE production machine.
The first MBE production machine to produce electronic components based on gallium nitride (GaN) has been successfully installed at an industrial site, and has started its qualification phase for production.
This machine, the MBE49GaN, benefits from the most recent technical advances that enable the combination of very high performance epiwafers and a very high level of productivity. This success stems from research conducted jointly by Riber and CNRS in Sophia-Antipolis, and development work carried out by Riber and its partner.
The final markets for the electronic components produced from this machine are:
- Radio-frequencies communication for roaming communications products ;
- Power electronic for industrial products and mass market ;
- Lighting with white LEDs.
The undertaking of nitride at Riber
It was in the joint Riber/CNRS laboratory in Sophia-Antipolis, equipped with a Compact21GaN machine, that research and development work is carried out on Riber’s GaN processes. The laboratory works on two main processes: one for radio-frequency components like HEMT type; and the other for opto-electronic devices such as LED or lasers.
The work on radio-frequency devices enabled state of the art performances to be achieved for HEMT processes, which notably led to the definition of the technical specifications of the MBE49GaN. The work on the opto-electronic devices is carried out as part of a research programme founded by ANR (Agence National de la Recherche). The DEMONI project started at the beginning of the year, for the development of a process to produce white monolithic LEDs.
In addition to the R&D work, this laboratory is also used for demonstrating GaN processes to our customers.
A complete offer to win new markets.
The MBE49GaN machine, the first MBE production machine for nitride handling multi-wafers of 100 mm or one wafer of 200 mm, completes the range of machines for research: Compact12GaN; Compact21GaN; and EpineatGaN.
Michel Picault, Chairman of the Executive Board stated “with this new advance, we have all the RD resources, the applications, and the epitaxy machines to assist our customers in progressing more rapidly in their research work, or to penetrate new applications. Promising possibilities open up for Riber and the industry”.