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TDI announces the release of new InGaN substrates for light emitting devices

August 16, 2007... Silver Spring, Maryland, USA Technologies and Devices International, Inc. (TDI), the leading developer and supplier of compound nitride semiconductor materials, today announces availability of the world’s first InGaN substrate materials. InGaN is the key compound semiconductor material used for the fabrication of GaN-based ultra violet (UV), blue, green, and white light emitting diodes (LEDs) and blue laser diodes (LDs). InGaN materials serve as the light emitting regions of these light-emitting devices and determine device parameters including efficiency, light output power and lifetime. InGaN substrates are needed to provide material match for InGaN-based device epitaxial structures and to boost device performance.

“Our success with the InGaN epitaxial process exemplifies our business strategy to bring the most advanced substrate materials to the LED and solid-state lighting market at the fastest possible pace,” said Vladimir Dmitriev, President and CEO of TDI. “Since the first demonstration of high quality InGaN materials grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) in 2006, we have been receiving continuous requests from our customers regarding these new products. Today we are pleased to announce the expansion of our substrate materials offering to include InGaN substrates. Support provided by the US Department of Energy and Department of Defense for this product development is greatly appreciated. We view this effort as one of the key components to enable advanced light emitting devices, particularly for solid state lighting applications.”

“No other existing substrates provide such an excellent material match between the substrate and the InGaN-based light emitting epitaxial structure,” added Alexander Syrkin, a senior crystal growth specialist for the company. “Composition of the InGaN can be carefully controlled to produce substrate materials matching customer device structure requests. Crystal lattice and thermal match between the substrate and the overgrown InGaN device has been predicted for a long time to reduce defects in the light emitting regions, increase light emitting efficiency and device lifetime. With these substrates, this is now possible”.

The product

New substrates consist of an InGaN layer deposited on 2-inch GaN/sapphire template. InN content in the InGaN layers ranges from 5 to 20 mol. %. Targeted applications are high brightness UV, blue, and green light emitting devices including light emitting diodes and, potentially, blue and green laser diodes. Currently InGaN template substrates are available in limited quantities. Volume production of InGaN template substrates is scheduled to begin in early 2008. For more information please visit www.tdii.com.

The Process and Fabrication Platforms

InGaN substrates are fabricated using proprietary patented HVPE process. The technology and equipment developed at TDI are the world’s first industrial scale HVPE platforms capable of producing state of the art AlN, GaN, AlGaN, InN, and InGaN epitaxial products with a wide range of deposition rates, various doping levels, wide composition ranges, and low defect densities. Epitaxial materials are manufactured using multi-wafer high throughput patented HVPE equipment developed and built at TDI. The process and equipment is scalable up to 6-inch and larger wafers. All production is run at TDI’s facility in Silver Spring, MD, USA.

Product featuring

TDI will report properties of InGaN substrates at the 4th China International Forum & Exhibition on Solid State Lighting, Shanghai, August 22-24, 2007, and the 1st International Conference on White LEDs and Solid State Lighting, Tokyo, November 26-30, 2007. New InGaN products will be displayed at the 7th International Conference on Nitride Semiconductors, Las Vegas, September 16-21, 2007.

About TDI

The company is a privately owned developer and manufacturer of novel compound semiconductors including GaN, AlN, AlGaN, InN, and InGaN. TDI has developed and commercialized a variety of compound semiconductor materials, primarily for applications in solid state lighting, short wavelength optoelectronics and RF power electronics. For novel development results and TDI’s product list please visit www.tdii.com