Plessey highlights GaN-on-silicon capabilities and LED manufacturing services at CS International conference

Plymouth, ENGLAND - Plessey presented its LED technology and the commercialisation of GaN-on-Silicon at the fifth CS International, a two-day conference in Frankfurt, Germany on 12th March. The conference provided an up-to-date overview with comprehensive coverage of every important sector within the compound semiconductor industry. Built on the success of its predecessors, the conference featured industry-leading insiders delivering more than thirty presentations spanning six sectors. The presentations detailed breakthroughs in device technology; offered insights into the current status and the evolution of compound semiconductor devices; and provided details of advances in tools and processes that will help to drive up fab yields and throughputs. The rapid growth of the LED industry in recent years is now focused towards reducing LED manufacturing costs to accelerate its penetration into the general lighting market. GaN-on-Silicon LED manufacturing technology offers tremendous potential to unlock cost savings in terms of wafer size scaling, reduced binning over conventional sapphire-based LEDs and the incorporation of advanced, yet low cost, Chip Scale Packaging (CSP) techniques. The increasing popularity of advanced 'package-free' LEDs bodes well with GaN-on-Silicon, as higher yields can be achieved in a thin film process through wet etching of the substrate compared to laser lift-off for sapphire and the surface emitting nature of GaN-on-Silicon LEDs is a perfect match to take advantage of the smaller form factors that CSP offers. Plessey has developed proprietary epitaxial and device architectures to exploit this LED manufacturing technology. Using a depreciated CMOS manufacturing line also allows low cost semi-automatic operation and cassette wafer loading system. Dr. Keith Strickland, Plessey's Chief Technical Officer, said, "Plessey's LEDs are produced using its proprietary GaN-on-Silicon technology. By using standard silicon semiconductor production techniques and process automation, Plessey is able to produce high-volume, high-quality, industry standard LEDs that are demanded in the consumer electronics market. Combining the inherent features of GaN-on-Silicon, such as low thermal resistance and surface emission, with advanced packaging technology will permit monolithic integration of LEDs with other component and provide differentiated solutions to the solid state lighting market. Plessey is working with a number of 'blue chip' lighting companies to develop Application Specific LEDs (ASLEDs) for this next generation of lighting solutions." Plessey's MaGIC™ (Manufactured on GaN-on-Si I/C) High Brightness LED (HBLED) technology has won numerous awards for its innovation and ability to cut the cost of LED lighting by using standard silicon manufacturing techniques. For further information and datasheets, please visit the Plessey website, www.plesseysemiconductors.com or send an email to [email protected] Plessey Plessey is a leading expert in the development and manufacture of semiconductor products used in sensing, measurement and control applications. Plessey's products are found in a wide range of markets including communications, manufacturing, medical, defence and aerospace. Plessey designs products for high performance applications and its range of integrated products includes CMOS image sensors, low and mid-power LEDs, Hall Effect devices and its award-winning EPIC electric potential sensors. Using its understanding of electronics and expertise in micro-electronic product design and manufacture, Plessey is radically enhancing the human experience with micro-electronics solutions such that people achieve more than they thought possible. Plessey is a UK based manufacturer with offices around the US, Europe and Asia.