News: Suppliers
4 August 2020
Azur orders Aixtron MOCVD system for entry into GaN high-power electronics & RF epi market
Azur Space Solar Power GmbH of Heilbronn, Germany is using the AIX G5+ C metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system from deposition equipment maker Aixtron SE of Herzogenrath, near Aachen, Germany for its expansion into the market for gallium nitride on silicon (GaN-on-Si) high-power electronics (HPE) and radio frequency (RF) epitaxial wafers.
Azur Space, which develops and produces multi-junction solar cells for both space and terrestrial concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) applications, is a long-standing Aixtron customer and has been using the AIX 2800G4-TM and AIX 2600G3 systems for its space solar application.
Featuring in-situ cleaning, a cassette-to-cassette wafer handler and Auto-Feed Forward (AFF) individual on-wafer temperature control, the now ordered fully automated AIX G5+ C system guarantees what is claimed to be unmatched epitaxial stability and low defect ratios. Furthermore, Aixtron’s Planetary Reactor enables increases in productivity and performance through the highest throughput, lowest cost of ownership and highest yield performance, the firm adds. The MOCVD platform is used for the production of 150mm and 200mm epiwafers.
With the establishment of a second business line leveraging its III-V manufacturing expertise, Azur Space is positioning itself in the fast-growing market for GaN epiwafers for power electronics and RF applications. With the capacity to operate at higher frequency and in a smaller form factor, demand for these epiwafers is driven mainly by the need for energy-efficient power systems, rapid charging solutions, renewable energies, server farms or the next generation of wireless networks (5G).
“Market entry will be a challenge. However, our more than 25 years of experience in III-V epitaxy technology with development and mass production is ideally complemented by Aixtron’s system, so we have a very good starting position,” reckons Azur’s CEO Jürgen Heizmann. “Importantly, Aixtron’s state-of-the-art Planetary Reactor provides us with the excellent quality level of our epiwafers required to capture the future market for high-performance electronics,” he adds.
ALLOS transferring RF & power electronics patents & know-how to new GaN-on-Si entrant Azur Space
GaN-on-Si firm ALLOS sells high-power electronics and RF business to AZUR
