GT Advanced Technologies announced that it has acquired exclusive rights from Kyma Technologies, Inc. for its plasma vapor deposition (PVD) process technology and know-how. The PVD of nano-columns (PVDNC™) technology developed by Kyma deposits a high-quality growth initiation layer of aluminum nitride (AlN) on wafers prior to gallium nitride (GaN) deposition. GT plans to commercialize a PVD tool that will complement its hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) system, which is currently in development. The combined offering will provide LED manufacturers with a higher throughput, lower cost solution to produce gallium nitride (GaN) templates on patterned or planar wafers. GT already has a high volume prototype tool incorporating Kyma's PVDNC technology and expects to offer a production-ready tool in the first half of 2015.

 

"Kyma's innovative "nano-columnar" PVDNC technology adds an important component to our expanding LED product base," said Tom Gutierrez, GT's president and CEO. "Our goal is to offer a range of solutions that improve the quality and lower the cost of LED manufacturing. The combination of GT's PVD AlN tool coupled with the HVPE system we are developing is expected to offer LED manufacturers a lower cost solution to producing epi-ready wafers compared with today's current manufacturing techniques."

 

Kyma's President and CEO, Keith Evans, said, "We are pleased that GT has decided to commercialize our PVDNC technology. Through years of innovation and production of AlN templates, we are convinced of the real and demonstrated benefits of nano-columnar AlN films to the LED industry."

 

Today, GaN deposition on epi wafers is done in slower and more expensive MOCVD tools. By utilizing the combined PVD and HVPE processes to create low cost GaN templates, manufacturers will be able to increase the throughput of their existing LED production lines and lower their capital expenditures because they will need fewer MOCVD tools.