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Power Electronics ♦ news digest


Troy Baker, Nitride’s research and development director, presented data at the 2013 International Conference on Nitride Semiconductors that showed commercial template properties far superior to any presented before. This data accelerated requests for sampling by major manufacturers of LEDs and power-switching devices.


“Our templates are by far the best in the market, and our manufacturing processes are designed for volume production and tight statistical process control. We offer customers the best commercially available XRD specs (average (002): 135 arc sec and (102): 513 arc sec), low defect densities, and wafer uniformity,” says Jeremy Jones, Nitride Solutions CEO.


He continues, “We believe that our recent sales and growing sample requests validate the quality and value of our products and technology. We realise that customer’s make decisions on substrates based on performance, quality, consistency, value delivered and supply assurance. Our combination of a superior product in the AT-50 plus a growing global distribution and technical support channel will provide the best solution for these customers. The planned introduction of four- inch aluminium nitride templates and the expansion of our template product line to GaN will bring additional value to device markets.”


James H. Edgar, department head of chemical engineering and university distinguished professor at Kansas State University comments, “The AlN on sapphire templates offered by Nitride Solutions are a much lower-cost alternative of high-quality material compared to bulk AlN substrates. That these substrates are available in two-inch diameter size greatly facilitates their use by standard device fabrication tools. The availability of these AlN templates creates exciting new opportunities for improved short-wavelength optoelectronic and high-power electronic devices.”


Nitride Solutions develops and manufactures bulk and template nitride materials for the LED, laser diode and the power electronics markets. Founded in 2009, the firm’s leadership has over 35 years of experience in supplying advanced materials to global manufacturers of semiconductor, display and memory devices, combined with a total of more than 35 years in nitride process development. The company maintains strong ties to Kansas State University in Manhattan, with key employees and advisors hailing from the university, as well as UC Santa Barbara.


GaN in power electronics applications


Bandgap materials GaN and SiC are generating significant buzz globally. Strategy Analytics expects SiC to be the primary replacement technology for silicon power devices, while GaN seeks initial commercial traction in applications with breakdown voltages of less than < 600V and power requirements of less than 5kW


Many studies have shown the direct relationship between energy and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This seems entirely plausible since a growing economy entails more production, as well as increasing levels of consumption. Policy makers in countries around the globe are realizing that a future overwhelmingly dependent on carbon- based sources of energy is likely to put the brakes on growth as these energy resources become scarcer and more expensive. Figure 1 shows how closely energy consumption trends track GDP. Figure 1: Global GDP Growth vs. Energy Consumption Growth


Source: The Shift Project


As regional and global economies grow, they are also becoming “digital”. This means there is much more reliance on electronic data and devices by consumers, enterprises and governments in the course of normal activities. For these devices and networks to function reliably, electric grid networks must be upgraded and expanded where they exist and built out where the networks do not exist. A robust, efficient grid is necessary to ensure growth, while minimizing the amount of energy required meeting these demands.


These requirements have provided the impetus for the growth of the power electronics industry. To sustain growth in the face of shrinking supplies of fossil fuel sources and minimize the by-products of these fuels, countries are turning to alternative energy sources, along with replacement technologies. In addition to finding alternative sources to generate electricity and


October 2013 www.compoundsemiconductor.net 115


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