PLYMOUTH, England, September 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Plessey, a leading developer of award-winning optoelectronic technology solutions, announces it has placed an order for its
next reactor from AIXTRON SE (FSE: AIXA), a leading global provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry. The
AIX G5+ C metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) reactor will boost Plessey's manufacturing capability of gallium
nitride on silicon (GaN-on-Si) wafers targeting next-generation microLED applications.
(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/746387/AIXTRON_SE.jpg )
With an automatic cassette-to-cassette (C2C) wafer transfer module, the new AIXTRON reactor will be installed and operational
during Q1 of 2019 at Plessey's 270,000 sq ft fabrication facility located in Plymouth, UK. The
AIX G5+ C MOCVD system has two separate chamber set-up options, which enables configurations of 8 x 6in or 5 x 8in GaN-on-Si
wafers to be automatically loaded and removed from the system in an enclosed cassette environment. The system will be an addition
to the company's existing metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) reactors, also supplied by AIXTRON, which provide
configurations of 7 x 6in or 3 x 8in with manual loading.
Productivity is further enhanced by the new reactor’s automated self-cleaning technology, which helps to deliver a very low
level of wafer defects by ensuring the reactor is clean on every run, significantly reducing downtime for maintenance. The new
equipment also provides faster ramp and cool down along with a high susceptor unload temperature to reduce the recipe time.
The AIX G5+ C reactor will support Plessey's extensive production roadmap to increase R&D capacity of its monolithic
microLEDs based on its proprietary GaN-on-Si technology. Plessey's microLEDs offer extremely low power, high brightness and very
high pixel density to create the potential for disruption in many existing application areas that use conventional display
technologies such as LCD and OLED.
Plessey's mission is to become the world's leading company developing innovative illuminators for display engines and
full-field emissive microLED displays. The complex devices combine very high-density RGB pixel arrays with high-performance CMOS
backplanes to produce very high-brightness, low-power, and high-frame-rate image sources for head-mounted displays, and wearable
electronics devices for augmented reality and virtual reality systems.
Dr. Frank Schulte, Vice President of AIXTRON Europe, said: "We are confident that
the AIX G5+ C will support Plessey's requirements in the best way possible to address the most stringent requirements for
microLED production. While offering more productive configurations, the tool meets the toughest requirements from the silicon
industry in terms of uniformity and particles."
Mike Snaith, Chief Operating Officer at Plessey, explained: "Our
continued and valuable relationship with AIXTRON allows Plessey to rapidly bring to market its monolithic microLEDs. To help us
achieve this, our latest acquisition of AIX G5+ C planetary system combines outstanding on-wafer uniformity and run-to-run
performance at the lowest cost of ownership - aspects that are critical for efficient high-volume GaN-on-Silicon microLED
displays."
Addressing all of the challenges involved in manufacturing microLEDs, including high-volume and cost-effective production
capability, Plessey is actively engaging with potential customers to use its cutting-edge production-ready microLED technology
platform.
About Plessey
Plessey is a UK-based leading developer of advanced optoelectronic technology solutions. The company provides volume processing
of its unique and proprietary GaN-on-Silicon platform for a wide range of optoelectronic devices and systems.
With headquarters located in Plymouth, England, Plessey operates leading-edge 150mm and 200mm
wafer processing facilities to undertake design, test and assembly of products, and a comprehensive suite of photonic
characterisation and applications laboratories.
Plessey is an award-winning provider of innovative illuminators for display engines (DMD and LCOS) and full-field emissive
microLED displays that combine very high-density RGB pixel arrays with high-performance CMOS backplanes to produce very
high-brightness, low-power and high-frame-rate image sources for head-mounted displays (HMDs), and augmented reality (AR) and
virtual reality (VR) systems.
For further information and datasheets, please visit http://www.plesseysemiconductors.com or email sales@plesseysemi.com. You can also follow Plessey on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
About AIXTRON
AIXTRON SE is a leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry. The Company was founded in 1983 and is
headquartered in Herzogenrath (near Aachen), Germany, with subsidiaries and sales offices in
Asia, United States and in Europe. AIXTRON´s technology solutions are used by a diverse range of customers worldwide to build advanced
components for electronic and opto-electronic applications based on compound or organic semiconductor materials. Such components
are used in a broad range of innovative applications, technologies and industries. These include Laser and LED applications,
display technologies, data transmission, SiC and GaN power management and conversion, communication, signaling and lighting as
well as a range of other leading-edge technologies.
Our registered trademarks: AIXACT®, AIXTRON®, APEVA®, Atomic Level SolutionS®,
Close Coupled Showerhead®, CRIUS®, EXP®, EPISON®, Gas Foil Rotation®,
Optacap™, OVPD®, Planetary Reactor®, PVPD®, STExS®, TriJet®
For further information on AIXTRON (FSE: AIXA, ISIN DE000A0WMPJ6) please visit our website at: http://www.aixtron.com.
SOURCE Plessey and AIXTRON