AIXTRON SE today announced a new BM system order from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The contract is for a BM Pro PECVD system in a 4-inch wafer configuration, which will be dedicated to the production of carbon nanotubes and graphene.

The order was placed in the first quarter of 2012 and the system will be delivered in the third quarter of 2012. AIXTRON’s local support team will install and commission the deposition system at the Institute’s state-of-the-art cleanroom facility.

“We are looking forward to taking delivery of the new system, which will significantly enhance our ability to controlled synthesize carbon nanotubes with special conductivity and chirality of high-quality graphene films,” Prof. Cheng, Head of the Advanced Carbon Lab at IMR, comments. “AIXTRON’s BM system has a very good reputation due to its reliability, flexibility and processing capabilities. We are confident that it will enable us to produce high-quality carbon nanotubes and graphene with excellent structural characteristics and reproducibility. The BM system is easy to operate and maintain, and we know we can call on the expertise of the local AIXTRON team at any time for process and system support.”

AIXTRON's BM systems offer a turnkey solution for carbon nanotube and graphene production. The system can operate in both thermal CVD and plasma-enhanced CVD modes, which is extremely important for controlling the structure of carbon nanomaterials as it enables virtually all variations and morphologies of carbon nanotubes, and graphene to be produced.

AIXTRON’s Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Bernd Schulte, comments, “The BM product has become the system of choice for reliable and reproducible growth of even the most complex CNT arrays and graphene films of the highest quality. Our customers have expressed their complete satisfaction across a wide range of applications, and we are confident that the Institute of Metal Research will be equally impressed with their BM Pro system."