First 200 mm AlN-on-Si template using ammonia-based Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE)
SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, France, June 15th, 2020 – EasyGaN SAS, RIBER SA, and the CRHEA-CNRS Laboratory reached an important milestone with the fabrication of a first 200 mm AlN-on-Si template using NH3-MBE. The joined team grew such a template with unprecedented quality in terms of roughness, pit density, and structural quality on an 8-inch Si wafer thanks to a RIBER MBE 49 reactor installed at the CRHEA laboratory. With this step, EasyGaN will be able to provide high-quality AlN templates to the electronic market enabling the fabrication of GaN-on-Si devices with improved breakdown voltages, significantly lower RF losses, and allowing for a higher manufacturing throughput with the required diameters. This innovation is also a major step forward in the development of EasyGaN’s own GaN-on-Si epiwafer solutions.
“This achievement was crucial for the adoption of our template technology by the GaN-on-Si manufacturers. We are looking forward to showing what our NH3-MBE AlN template solution can bring to the market”, says André Bonnardot, CEO at EasyGaN.
“Despite the impact of the Covid19 pandemic on working conditions, the epi team remained fully mobilized to complete quickly this proof of concept which qualifies the Riber MBE 49 GaN as the perfect 200mm MBE production tool for growing high-quality GaN epilayers on Si for power electronics”, says Philippe Ley, CEO at RIBER.
“The growth of III-nitrides on silicon by MBE has been a major research area at CRHEA for the last two decades. Growing AlN-on-Si templates on an industrial 200 mm MBE reactor represents a major achievement, a perfect example of successful transfer from original academic ideas to industrial partners” says Philippe Boucaud, CRHEA’s director.
EasyGaN is a startup providing solutions for easy access to the GaN-on-silicon technology. Located on the French Riviera, EasyGaN is a spin-off of CRHEA-CNRS, an internationally recognized research center in the epitaxial growth of GaN. EasyGaN is also a member of the national network (labex) “GaNeX”, which has supported the industrial transfer from CRHEA to EasyGaN for three years through post doc positions.
RIBER is a global market leader for semiconductor industry equipment. It designs and produces molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) systems as well as high-quality evaporation sources and cells for research and production. RIBER portfolio ranges from highly capable research reactors used by the leading research centers all around the world to far larger production machines which are operating in many of the world’s leading compound semiconductor foundries.
Through its high-tech equipment, RIBER performs an essential role in the development of advanced semiconductor systems that are used in numerous consumer applications: VCSELs, 5G, MicroLED to OLED flat screens and next-generation solar cells. This includes particularly for MBE GaAs, Antimonides and Nitrides based semiconductor compounds. To ensure a fast response time for its clients, RIBER provides technical and scientific support from its headquarters in France and additional offices in the US and Asia.
CRHEA, Research Center for HeteroEpitaxy and its Applications is a CNRS research laboratory specialized in the epitaxy of wide band gap semiconductor materials such as III-nitride materials (GaN, AlN), zinc oxide (ZnO), silicon carbide (SiC) and their micro- and nanofabrication. CRHEA also studies 2D materials such as graphene, or boron nitride.