GaN, the “Black Technology” in the compound semiconductor market, can largely reduce product size thanks to its high power and high density. The compound also maintains excellent properties under high-frequency, high-temperature and high-voltage circumstances. The increasing demand for GaN in 5G/6G, renewable energy and electric vehicle markets will boost the material’s value in the context of consumer electronics and related industrial chains. GaN is going to be the next-gen “superstar” in the semiconductor industry.

The Department of Industrial Technology (DoIT) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan has long allocated resources into the semiconductor industry. The department has witnessed the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) signing a research partnership agreement with Oxford Instruments. By incorporating the two institutions’ R&D competencies, the partnership will stimulate the development of compound semiconductor industry chain in Taiwan.

Pei-Zen Chang, executive vice president of the ITRI, indicated that as early as 15 years ago, the institute collaborated with Oxford Instruments to conduct research in precision inspection and analysis. In addition to being an important partner of Oxford Instruments across the Pacific Asia, the ITRI has established a strong relationship with the UK research company. The two has jointly achieved excellent results in fields of HBLED, MEMS, Micro LED, silicon photonics and nano analysis.

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Chang specified that the ITRI has recently proposed its 2030 strategic planning agenda, whereby the institute will strive for innovative R&D related to four major smart technologies (i.e., artificial intelligence, semiconductor chip fabrication, communications and cybersecurity and cloud computing). The partnership with Oxford Instruments will help establish a comprehensive supply chain of next-gen semiconductors and facilitate R&D associated with system integration and cross-disciplinary innovation, thereby realizing industrial transformation and upgrading and stimulating economic and industrial growth in Taiwan.

Chih-I Wu, general director of Electronic and Optoelectronic System Research Laboratories, revealed that the ITRI has developed a GaN-based semiconductor technology for high frequency communication. The institute has also cooperated with academic institutions to conduct epitaxy research and develop high frequency components with an operating frequency of 320 GHz, 100 GHz power amplifier modules, as well as other advanced technologies. All of the said efforts are aimed at enabling Taiwan to gain autonomy for its core technologies for next-gen ultra-high frequency (UHF) communication.

Wu added that the ITRI–Oxford collaboration aims to develop technologies of compound semiconductor components, increase the process yield of GaN-based high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs), enhance charging power of power supplies and improve transistor performance. In this way, Taiwan can develop strategies to establish the next-gen compound semiconductor industry and secure a crucial position in the entire supply chain.

Oxford Instruments’ chief executive Ian Barkshire said that they will offer advanced atomic layer deposition and etching equipment. Along with the ITRI’s technical solutions for core UHF semiconductor components and world-leading process development platform, the partnership is expected to strengthen the two’s R&D capacity, enabling them to enter global supply chains (Source: Economic Daily News).