AIXTRON: The 4 Inch MOCVD Equipment to Be the Mainstream in 2010

Interview with Dr. Christian Geng, Vice President Greater China, General Manager AIXTRON Taiwan and Mr Bernd Wachtendorf, Director of Operations: Encouraged by lower sapphire substrate price, the 4 inch MOCVD equipment is expected to become mainstream next year.

Dr. Christian Geng, Vice President Greater China, General Manager AIXTRON Taiwan(Right) /Mr Bernd Wachtendorf, Director of Operations(Left)


LEDinside has recently interviewed Dr. Christian Geng, Vice President Greater China, General Manager AIXTRON Taiwan and Mr Bernd Wachtendorf, Director of Operations, to explore market dynamics in MOCVD equipment and its future technological development.

Dr. Christian Geng: AIXTRON has ample production capacity to meet the market demand

Dr. Christian Geng, Vice President Greater China, General Manager AIXTRON Taiwan

Stimulated by widespread adoption of LED backlights in applications such as Notebook and LCD TV, upstream chips have been in short supply this year. Thus, chipmakers started aggressive capacity expansion. As observed by LEDinside, current MOCVD equipment lead times tend to be slightly longer than before.

Despite the high demand for MOCVD capacity, AIXTRON has ample production capacity to accommodate the volume, says Geng. In theory, AIXTRON’s production capacity exceeds market demand, however, with such sudden demand rush, establishing the MOCVD equipment still requires the collaboration with material suppliers and company staff. Close communication with customers on forecast is helpful in managing these dynamics.

Large-sized LED backlight modules will underpin market demand in the long run

Mr Bernd Wachtendorf, Director of Operations

Due to its volatile nature, LED demand visibility is often limited in the short term. However, from a mid- and long-term perspective, demand seems to be centered on Notebook and LCD backlights. Notebook backlighting with LEDs is currently undergoing an enormous growth and becoming mainstream, Television will be next. As for LED in general lighting, due to the energy saving versus investment cost, “hospitality lighting” (used 24/7) is currently more popular than LED lights in private households. Nevertheless, the market is expected to boom as prices fall in future.

Encouraged by lower sapphire price, the 4 inch MOCVD equipment is expected to become mainstream next year
Even though Taiwan chipmakers hold the technology to control 4 and 6 inch equipment, in consideration of its substrate cost, many Taiwan LED chip makers still use 2 inch MOCVD equipment while western and Korean chipmakers are already adopting 4 inch.

This is expected to change rapidly once the price of a 4 inch wafer drops below 4 times the price of a 2 inch wafer. Wachtendorf points out that customers have the ability to change the configuration of their existing AIXTRON equipment from 2 inch to 4 inch configurations.

6 inch MOCVD increases chip output by 30%

Already mainstream for µ-wave device production for many years, the 6 inch equipment will be gradually adopted for LED chip manufacturing. In May this year, AIXTRON and SemiLEDs jointly demonstrated the fabrication of blue LEDs on a 6 inch wafer. In 6x6 inch configuration, the AIX 2800G4 HT MOCVD reactor has about 30% more capacity, with improved uniformity and less edge effect compared with the 42x2-inch configuration. However, the cost  barrier with respect to the substrate is even higher than to 4 inch and after-epi chip process still has some challenges to deal with wafer bow.


AIX 2800G4 HT in 42 x 2” & 6 x 6” configuration
 
Source: AIXTRON, LEDinside

High uniformity makes AIXTRON a global leader in MOCVD equipment

With over 70% market share in MOCVD equipment supply, AIXTRON’s competitive advantage lies in its advanced technological know-how and its high productivity. In particular, AIXTRON ensures high uniformity and yield for every chip, every batch and every system. This is especially crucial when chipmakers expand capacities, based on identical processes. In addition to its advanced technology, Geng made a particular mention that to become a successful global leader in this field, AIXTRON has been devoted to understanding the needs of its customers, and gaining insight into the future technology needs.

Insights from LEDinside

AIXTRON’s official revenue target for this year is set at €230 ~ 250 million, which is 40% higher than its previous projection of €170 million in March. The recovery of equipment market signals that upstream chipmakers have perceived a firm demand and begun to purchase equipment. Meeting the rapidly increasing demand for MOCVD tools will be a key challenge to the equipment manufacturers; however AIXTRON is convinced to have the capabilities to meet this challenge easily.

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