AIXTRON SE today announced that the Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics (SINANO), China, has made a purchase order for two AIXTRON Close Coupled Showerhead (CCS) systems to extend the center’s nitride semiconductor research. The order has been placed in the third quarter with deliveries planned in the fourth quarter of 2012 and in the first quarter of 2013.

One system, capable of handling 6x2-inch substrates, focuses primarily on R&D, while the other system, a CRIUS, is designed for mass production, handling up to 31x2-inch or 3x6-inch substrates in one run.

Dr. Hui Yang, Director of SINANO, reports: “Our Nano-Devices and Materials Division will use these systems to develop new applications such as gallium nitride (GaN) lasers on the 2-inch R&D system and GaN growth on silicon substrates and high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) on the CRIUS system.”

The Nano-Devices and Materials Division was established in 2006, with one of its research groups focusing on GaN-based high power light-emitting diodes (LED) and laser diodes (LDs) with an AIXTRON CCS 6x2-inch system. The division now wants to extend its expertise into the power electronics field.

GaN-based HEMTs are being widely developed on silicon as a route to mass production of high power density devices for radio frequency and power switching applications. Systems built with such devices could be more compact and more power efficient, needing less complex circuitry with fewer passive components and reduced cooling requirements.

SINANO was founded by the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), the government of Jiangsu Province and the government of Suzhou city. The center’s mission is to carry out fundamental, strategic and prospective research, aiming at world-class technological advancement, meeting China’s national strategic demand and leading the way to future industrial development.