Advanced semiconductor materials pave the way for novel applications in both new and existing market segments. Central North Carolina has a proven track record as a premier innovation center for advanced materials and information technology with a storied list of successful start-ups including RF Micro Devices (RFMD) and Cree Research. RFMD, now Qorvo, harnessed the performance of gallium arsenide (GaAs) to become a dominant supplier of RF integrated circuits for wireless and broadband communications; while Cree Research, now Cree, perfected silicon carbide (SiC) technology to lead the explosive growth in LED lighting and high power switching devices.

HexaTech, Inc. is a recognized world leader in the development and commercialization of the next-generation semiconductor material, aluminum nitride (AlN). This wide bandgap semiconductor offers unique properties which enable the fabrication of first-in-kind devices, including long life ultraviolet (UV-C) light emitting diodes (LEDs) for disinfection applications, deep UV lasers for biological threat detection, high voltage switching devices for efficient power conversion, and radio frequency (RF) components for satellite communications.

High-performance III-nitride semiconductor devices, comprised of alloys of (Al, In, Ga)N, currently face a crucial challenge in terms of achievable device quality. Fabricating these devices on lattice-matched, highly thermally conducting, single crystalline AlN wafers enables sophisticated, next-generation III-nitride based devices with vastly superior performance and device lifetimes.

HexaTech AlN boules
HexaTech has developed a proprietary crystal growth process that yields the world’s highest quality single crystalline AlN boules, ideally suited for the fabrication of AlN substrates.

By producing material with 10,000 to 1,000,000 times fewer defects than competing technologies, HexaTech's AlN substrates enable breakthrough performance in the fabrication of high Al content AlGaN and other III-Nitride based devices.

AlN Substrate Products

Next generation electronic and optoelectronic devices demand advances in semiconductor materials. UV-C optoelectronics, high performance power conversion devices and high power, high frequency RF devices are all made using (Al, In, Ga)N epitaxial layers with high Al concentrations, typically above 60%. The key to successfully producing these high performance devices is utilizing high quality AlN substrates on which these epitaxial layers are laid down.

Without the use of AlN, device manufacturers are relegated to building III-nitride-based devices on sub-optimal substrates such as sapphire or silicon carbide (SiC), and therefore are forced to implement exotic and sometimes expensive fabrication techniques to compensate for the mismatch in materials, often with sub-optimal results. From a market perspective, this alternative approach has been both disappointing and predictable; devices riddled with defects that don’t meet the performance or reliability needs of the customer.

By manufacturing devices directly on native AlN substrates, HexaTech’s process shows 10,000 to 1,000,000 times fewer defects than the next best technologies. HexaTech’s high quality substrates translate to devices with superior performance, reliability and production yields. HexaTech currently offers single crystalline AlN substrates in c-plane and m-plane orientation.

Read more about Stanley Electric's UV-C LED products based on HexaTech's substrates.

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