News: Suppliers
9 August 2023
Crystal IS produces first 4-inch AlN substrate
Crystal IS Inc of Green Island, NY, USA — a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Asahi Kasei that makes proprietary ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UVC LEDs) — has produced what it claims is the first reported 4-inch (100mm)-diameter single-crystal aluminium nitride (AlN) substrate, demonstrating the scalability of its processes for growing AlN bulk single crystals to meet production demands.
Aluminium nitride substrates have low defect densities, high UV transparency, and low impurity concentrations. AlN is attractive for a variety of applications, such as UVC LEDs and power devices, due to its ultra-wide bandgap and very high thermal conductivity. The 4-inch substrate produced shows a usable area of over 80% based on existing requirements for UVC LEDs.
“This accomplishment signifies that aluminium nitride is commercially viable for new industries beyond just UVC LEDs,” comments Dr Naohiro Kuze, executive fellow, Research Laboratory of Advanced Science and Technology, Asahi Kasei.
Founded in 1997 to develop native aluminium nitride substrates, Crystal IS manufactures UVC LEDs on its commercial process for 2-inch diameter substrates. These LEDs enable what is claimed to be industry-leading reliability and performance at the ideal germicidal wavelengths of 260–270nm for the disinfection of water, air and surfaces. The existing capacity of the facility can meet the volume requirements for consumer devices using UVC LEDs based on the existing 2-inch production line.
“This indicates the scalability of our processes to deliver quality devices on aluminium nitride,” says Crystal IS’ president & CEO Eoin Connolly.
Crystal IS currently produces thousands of 2-inch substrates annually to support the production of its Klaran and Optan product lines. The commercialization of 4-inch AlN substrates will quadruple the device output of the existing footprint of the firm’s Green Island facility. It should also enable the development of new applications on aluminium nitride substrates as it integrates into existing fabrication lines for power and RF devices using alternative materials.
Crystal IS is presenting the progress on 4-inch substrates at the 23rd American Conference on Crystal Growth and Epitaxy in Tucson, Arizona (13–18 August).
