Soitec and Sumitomo Electric collaborate on engineered GaN substrates

Tokyo, Japan--Soitec, supplier of engineered substrates, and Sumitomo Electric Industries, provider of compound semiconductor materials, announced that they are working together to develop engineered gallium nitride (GaN) substrates. The alliance will draw on Sumitomo Electric’s GaN wafer manufacturing technology and Soitec’s Smart Cut layer transfer technology by which ultra-thin GaN layers are transferred from a single GaN wafer to produce multiple, engineered GaN substrates. The engineered substrates retain the original, high crystalline quality of Sumitomo Electric’s GaN wafer at a lower cost, to facilitate widespread use of GaN substrates in applications like high-brightness LEDs (HB LEDs) as well as electric power devices for hybrid and full electric vehicles.

"We are delighted to work with Sumitomo Electric and excited about what we have been able to achieve together so far. We are partnering with the leader in GaN wafer manufacturing to offer engineered substrates that have the best crystal quality available today. This collaboration represents the first step of an important move in our strategy to address the need for dramatically improved efficiency in power conversion and lighting with innovative materials engineering solutions," said André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé, CEO of Soitec.

The Soitec Group provides engineered substrate solutions that serve as the foundation for today’s most advanced microelectronic products. The group leverages its proprietary Smart Cut technology to engineer new substrate solutions, such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers, which became the first high-volume application for this proprietary technology. Since then, SOI has emerged as the material platform of the future, enabling the production of higher-performing, faster chips that consume less power. Today, Soitec produces more than 80% of the world’s SOI wafers. Headquartered in Bernin, France, with two high-volume fabs on-site, Soitec has offices throughout the United States, Japan, and Taiwan, and a new production site in Singapore. Three other divisions, Picogiga International, Tracit Technologies, and Concentrix Solar, complete the Soitec Group.

SOURCE: Soitec; www.soitec.com/en/news/press-releases-578.php

Posted by:Gail Overton

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