Description du projet
Un traitement novateur réduit le prix du successeur potentiel du silicium
Les semi-conducteurs sont les éléments constitutifs de l’électronique moderne. Pendant des décennies, le silicium en a été la pierre angulaire, mais il atteint ses limites théoriques d’amélioration. Le nitrure de gallium (GaN), couramment utilisé dans les diodes électroluminescentes, est en train de lui voler la vedette. Il présente une densité de puissance supérieure, peut conduire les électrons des centaines de fois plus efficacement que le silicium et est plus résistant à la température et plus fiable. Dans l’ensemble, le GaN peut faciliter la fabrication de dispositifs plus petits, plus rapides, plus fiables et plus efficaces, ce qui permet de réduire le volume et le coût du cycle de vie. Afin de rendre le GaN accessible aux applications courantes, le projet eleGaNt, financé par l’UE, s’attaquera à des obstacles majeurs: son coût en vrac et la dégradation de ses performances. Pour relever ces défis, l’équipe optimisera son processus de croissance de couches minces de GaN de qualité supérieure sur n’importe quel substrat.
Objectif
As the world becomes digitalized, the need for more energy efficient, faster and better performing Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) becomes paramount. These ECS are fully dependent on the semiconductor materials within, currently over 90% silicon (Si)-based. Pure Si technology can no longer cater to the needs placed upon ECS for power electronics and RF applications and thus new semiconductor technologies based on gallium nitride (GaN) are being explored. GaN material properties make it the primary choice for future generations of energy-efficient, high performance power electronics devices, necessary to modernize the energy grid and allow for sustainable energy production and use. However, bulk GaN is prohibitively expensive and thus inaccessible to mainstream applications. The main approach to making the technology commercially viable, reducing its cost significantly, is growing GaN layers on other materials, such as Si. Today, this poses a major technical barrier: existing methods result in high defect densities in the GaN layers, offering a fraction of the efficiency of bulk GaN and therefore poor ECS performance. Switching to GaN-on-Si today thus offers very limited advantages. To harness the full potential of GaN in a commercially viable way, we, at Hexagem, have developed EleGaNt, a cutting-edge new method of growing GaN semiconductor layers of unprecedented quality on any substrate. EleGaNt is the first to deliver capabilities on par with bulk GaN at the cost of current market-available underperforming GaN-on-Si. Our patented EleGaNt growth method introduces a new era of semiconductor wafer tech for an energy efficient power and RF electronics market and has the potential to become the new silicon in the multi-billion power electronics industry, whilst also offering a route towards expanding the TAM for GaN tech. We will license our tech to ECS manufacturers for integration into their fabs, whilst we remain a cutting-edge tech development company.
Champ scientifique
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringinformation engineeringtelecommunicationstelecommunications networksmobile network5G
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energy
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrypost-transition metals
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicssemiconductivity
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrymetalloids
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinateur
223 63 Lund
Suède
L’entreprise s’est définie comme une PME (petite et moyenne entreprise) au moment de la signature de la convention de subvention.