News: Suppliers
2 October 2024
DARPA awards HexaTech AlN substrate development contract
HexaTech Inc of Morrisville, NC, USA (a subsidiary of Stanley Electric Co Ltd of Tokyo, Japan) has signed a multi-year contract with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as part of its recently announced Ultra-Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (UWBGS) program, which aims to develop foundational, high-quality materials necessary for realizing practical UWBG electronics and enabling UWBG applications.
HexaTech’s role will focus on developing 100mm-diameter, low-defect-density aluminium nitride (AlN) substrates, which will be essential for further expanding the performance/application envelope of high-voltage and high-frequency electronic devices.
If fully exercised, the potential three-year contract is valued at $10.2m, and builds on HexaTech’s previously announced 100mm development effort, accelerating the timeline and building on the scale of the firm’s production process from crystal growth through substrate finishing.
“To fully support the technical potential of AlN substrates in both existing and new device technologies, expansion to 100mm in diameter, coupled with superior bulk quality characteristics, will be critical for several reasons, including device fabrication line capabilities, device performance, and reliability,” notes Dr Rafael Dalmau, the program’s principal investigator at HexaTech.
“The result of this program will be the direct translation of 100mm AlN substrates into volume production, enabling industry adoption by both commercial and defense foundries,” says Gregory Mills, VP of business development. “The commercialization of high-quality, large-diameter AlN substrates for both existing and future customers will drive critical next-generation device performance gains.”
HexaTech investment accelerates 100mm AlN substrate program
