5 April 2011

TU Eindhoven to use Aixtron CCS MOCVD reactor for nanowire structures

Deposition equipment maker Aixtron SE of Herzogenrath, Germany says that in fourth-quarter 2010 it received an order from existing customer the University of Technology (TU) Eindhoven in the Netherlands for a Close Coupled Showerhead (CCS) MOCVD reactor in 3x2"-wafer configuration.

After delivery in third-quarter 2011, the local Aixtron support team will install and commission the reactor in the cleanroom facility within the COBRA Research Institute at TU Eindhoven. It will then be used for the growth of GaAs- and InP-based nanowire structures as well as for nitrides and silicon compounds.

“The new reactor will be used for fundamental research purposes and in particular to synthesize complex semiconducting nanowire heterostructures to be used as active elements in solar cells, (bio)chemical sensors, thermoelectrics and in quantum information devices,” says professor Dr Erik Bakkers of TU Eindhoven’s Photonics of Semiconductor Nanostructures Department. “For these applications, the electronic (mobility) and optical quality (linewidth and intensity) of the wires must be excellent,” he adds.

“This versatile MOCVD system will be the workhorse of our group, providing Dutch research institutes with nanowires and other relevant materials,” Bakkers continues. “The CCS system will enable us to achieve control of nanowire properties and enable the manufacture of nanowires from new combinations of materials.”

TU Eindhoven’s nanowire group began operation in January 2010 and has since been setting up a national nanowire growth facility. The COBRA Research Institute is the National Centre of the Netherlands for Research on III-V semiconductors and optoelectronic devices and systems. COBRA employs more than 100 scientists and technicians.

See: Aixtron Company Profile

Tags: Aixtron MOCVD GaAs nanowire structures InP nanowire structures

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