cover story  epigan F


ounded in 2010 as a spin-off from Belgian research centre Imec, EpiGaN has become a key player in GaN-on-Si semiconductors. Thanks to its wide bandgap, combined with other performance features, GaN shows superior efficiency at high voltages. This is paving the way for replacing conventional silicon power semiconductors by GaN HEMTs (high-electron mobility transistor) Such GaN devices will enable more efficient power converters, power supplies,


motor drives, solar inverters and transport systems – all with a smaller environmental footprint. Just last month, on May 23, EpiGaN officially opened its new volume production facility at the Research Campus Hasselt (RCH) in Belgium, located in the busy European high-tech triangle Eindhoven-Leuven-Aachen. This campus offers the framework for cleanroom facilities as required for the production of GaN-on-Si.


EpiGaN Creating the Future


Compound semiconductors have long been touted as a disruptive force to traditional semiconductor manufacturing but have often ended up with niche markets as superior speeds have not been matched with cost differences. The last decade has seen a surge in compound semiconductor potential and here we profile a new company that quickly developed a reputation for power electronics based on Gallium Nitride (GaN) and become an integral part of European research efforts.


10 www.siliconsemiconductor.net Issue 2 2012


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