11 September 2012

LEES project aims to integrate optical and electronic components on a chip, using III-V-on-Si technology

A meeting organized by the Singapore MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Center, has taken place to initiate the research project Low Energy Electronics Systems (LEES), which aims to develop cutting-edge technology to increase energy efficiency and advance high-tech industries that complement microelectronics. SMART is a collaborative project between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the National Research Foundation of Singapore (NRF). Its objective is to develop ways to integrate optical and electronic components on a chip, using III-V-on-silicon technology. By 2016, the LEES team aim to have developed novel material compounds, process technologies, and integrated circuits on 200 mm CMOS-compatible silicon wafers. Prof. Eugene A. Fitzgerald from MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) is the Lead-Principal Investigator for the project, with Soon F. Yoon from the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department (EEE) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) as Co-Lead.

Two CRIUS 1x200 mm systems, ordered from Aixtron SE of Herzogenrath, Germany earlier this year will form the technological basis for the LEES project work. Both systems will be available for use from Q4/2012.

“Given the increasing scarcity of energy resources, we are being challenged to provide integrated circuits that have more functionality and higher performance, and use less power,” said Fitzgerald.

Prof. Michael Heuken, vice president of Research and Development at Aixtron, was appointed as a member of the LEES scientific advisory board. “LEES combines the advantages of expertise in III-V semiconductors with the already established silicon technology,” said Heuken. “Our particular interest lies in the production of LEDs, lasers, and power semiconductors on large silicon wafers on an industrial scale.”

Integrating AlInGaN and AlInGaAsP based III-V semiconductors in silicon-based CMOS circuits will reduce energy use. New circuit designs will be used in multifunctional LED color displays of mobile phones, televisions, and computers, as well as in the printing, power electronics, and LED lighting.

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