News

13 October 2010

 

MicroLink Devices opts for Aixtron 2800G4 HT system to boost production of solar cells and HBTs

MicroLink Devices Inc of Niles, Illinois, USA says that it has placed an order with Germany's Aixtron AG for a AIX 2800G4-R MOCVD reactor. The system will be used to produce GaAs-based multijunction solar cells and heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). Shipment and installation at MicroLink’s production facility in Niles is scheduled to take place within the next nine months.

The purchase is partly funded by a $5m grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), as part of its role in the Renewable Energy Production Program of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"We have had a good relationship with Aixtron for many years, and this order is a centrepiece in our expansion program to satisfy the mandate of the DCEO grant. The G4 will give us the opportunity to significantly expand production of solar cells that will be fabricated using our proprietary epitaxial lift-off (ELO) process,” says Dr Noren Pan, president of MicroLink Devices.

Last month MicroLink Devices announced that it had been issued U.S. Patent No. 7,687,886 "High on-state breakdown heterojunction bipolar transistor." According to the firm, the patent protects its unique design of a composite collector on a gallium indium phosphide (GaInP) HBT. This design has the potential to dramatically improve the performance of a variety of electronic components, particularly power amplifiers in any radio frequency (RF) device, it is claimed.

"This is a fundamental technology for wireless communications applications, enabling power amplifiers with higher output power and the ability to tolerate a large impedance mismatch," says Pan.

Founded by Pan in 2000, MicroLink Devices has earned ISO9001 Certification for its quality and service practices. Over the last six years, the firm has been a prime federal contractor on projects to develop solar cells, detectors, lasers, and high-speed transistors.

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