Plymouth, England--Semiconductor manufacturing companyPlessey (http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/oiq/2012/02/plessey-acquires-camgan.html) announced that samples of its gallium nitride (GaN) on silicon (Si) LED products (http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/2013/04/Low-cost-GaN-on-Si-LEDs-Cambridge.html) (p/n PLW111010) are now available. These entry level products are the first LEDs manufactured on 6-inch GaN on silicon (GaN-on-Si) substrates to be commercially available anywhere in the world. Plessey is using its proprietary large diameter GaN-on-Si process technology to manufacture the LEDs on its 6-inch MAGIC (Manufactured on GaN I/C) line at its Plymouth, England facility. Plessey says its MAGIC GaN line using standard semiconductor manufacturing processing provides yields of greater than 95% and fast processing times, providing a significant cost advantage over sapphire and silicon-carbide based solutions for LEDs of similar quality.
Vince Cable, MP, Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade said, "The government is supporting innovative companies like Plessey who are growing, creating jobs and exporting their products all over the world. That's why we selected Plessey’s £3.25 million Regional Growth Fund bid for Government support, which will create 100 new, high tech and highly skilled jobs in the region."
"Today is a significant step for us," said Barry Dennington, Plessey's COO. "From acquiring our first MOCVD reactor in August 2012 to having our first product in April 2013 is excellent progress. These entry level products will be used in indicating and accent lighting applications. We will continue to make progress in output efficiency and are on plan to release further improvements in light output throughout this year and into next. The operating and unit costs are on plan and we are seeing a number of routes to enhance our cost advantage over competing technologies."
SOURCE: Plessey Semiconductors; http://www.plesseysemiconductors.com/documents/PR-8thApril2013.pdf
IMAGE: The first commercially available gallium nitride on silicon (GaN-on-Si) LEDs are now available from Plessey. (Image credit: Plessey Semiconductors)