IMEC and Taiyo Nippon Sanso collaborate on green LED manufacturing

IMEC, an independent nanoelectronics research institute based in Leuven, Belgium, and Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp. (TNSC), a supplier of equipment and materials for LED manufacturing, have signed an agreement to jointly develop manufacturing technology for high-efficiency LED devices.

The agreement marks the first time Taiyo Nippon Sanso, based in Osaka, Japan, has collaborated with an advanced research center based in Europe.

Taiyo Nippon Sanso and IMEC cite an increasing demand to develop brighter green LEDs for future applications such as backlights for LCD television.

The two organizations plan to develop high-efficiency green LED device manufacturing technology based on IMEC's compound semiconductor device technology.

Research will be mainly carried out at the IMEC facilities in Leuven, building on IMEC's expertise in strain engineering on large wafer diameters, supported by in-situ growth monitoring.

"The collaboration with Taiyo Nippon Sanso, a total solution provider in the compound semiconductor field including metal organic materials, gas supply system, purification, abatement system and MOCVD tool, enables us to accelerate the development of high efficiency green LED manufacturing technology," said Gilbert Declerk, President and CEO of IMEC.

"This relationship with IMEC will enable Taiyo Nippon Sanso to position itself as a leading MOCVD tool maker in the LED compound semiconductor market," said Mike Hara, Senior Managing Director of Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation. The company is a supplier of metalorganic materials, gas supply systems, purification systems, abatement systems and MOCVD tools.