AIXTRON and Exagan partner to accelerate GaN-on-Si power HEMT manufacturing

AIXTRON SE, a provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, has shipped an AIX G5+ C system to French start-up company Exagan, a producer of  gallium nitride (GaN) power switches for electrical converters. The company is a spin-off from Soitec, the SoI (Silicon on insulator) worldwide leader, and CEA-Leti, a European research center focused on micro- and nanotechnologies. Exagan will use Aiwtron’s deposition tool in beginning volume production of gallium nitride on silicon (GaN-on-Si) materials for power-switching devices.

Exagan, in collaboration with its R&D partner CEA-Leti, selected the AIX G5+ C epitaxial deposition tool after evaluating its effectiveness in achieving tight uniformity control and high throughput using Exagan’s proprietary G-Stack™ process technology. This technology is used in creating a unique stack of GaN-based materials that enables the fabrication of Exagan’s G-FET™ transistors. Along with Soitec’s industrial facility and expertise and CEA-Leti’s 200 mm equipment and characterization tools, Aixtron’s equipment adds to Exagan’s supply chain as it ramps up its material production facility in Grenoble.

Fabrice Letertre, COO and Co-Founder of Exagan, comments:

“AIXTRON and our parent company CEA-Leti have enjoyed a long and successful R&D relationship developing GaN-on-Si technology. Now Exagan is partnering with AIXTRON to deliver on our industrial roadmap by using epi to reach our cost milestones. By implementing an efficient GaN-on-Si manufacturing process on 200 mm silicon substrates, we are aligning GaN technology with silicon manufacturing standards. This makes our G-FET products the most cost-efficient wide-bandgap solution for the solar, IT electronics, connectivity and automotive markets.”