News: Suppliers
21 July 2022
Aixtron to ship CCS MOCVD system to University of Texas at Austin for gallium oxide power devices
Deposition equipment maker Aixtron SE of Herzogenrath, near Aachen, Germany is to ship a new Close Coupled Showerhead (CCS) metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system to The University of Texas at Austin, Microelectronics Research Center (MRC), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The MOCVD deposition tool is specially configured to provide dual material capability, namely gallium oxide (Ga2O3) as well as gallium nitride (GaN)-based materials. Both materials qualify as wide- and ultrawide-bandgap materials – gallium oxide and its alloys can operate at higher voltages, frequencies and temperatures than incumbent semiconductor materials – opening up new applications in the areas of photodiodes and power switches.
“We had great experience with Aixtron CCS reactors in the past for GaAs and InP materials. We look forward to partner with Aixtron as we develop novel epitaxy layers and devices using this flexible system for dual materials, Ga2O3 and GaN,” says professor Xiuling Li, Endowed Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, and also an IEEE fellow. “This unique MOCVD reactor for growing gallium oxide and III-nitrides will put The University of Texas at the forefront of research in this area,” believes MRC director professor Sanjay Banerjee.
The MOCVD system can easily be switched from gallium oxide to gallium nitride modes, enabling safe, flawless operation of the system, says Aixtron. At the heart of the MOCVD tool is a triple-plenum showerhead, allowing the oxidizing materials to be kept completely separate from the metal-organic and gas precursors until injection into the process chamber. The system assures a high degree of thermal uniformity through the ARGUS full temperature mapping across the susceptor, and it is sized for high-end R&D – in academic institutions as well as in innovative private enterprises, the firm adds.
“Our CCS MOCVD tools have an excellent track record supporting academic work and scaling later to tier-1 industrial players,” says Aixtron’s CEO & president Dr Felix Grawert.
