Tier 1 semiconductor automotive supplier selects Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology’s ALE technology for it’s GaN power electronic program

Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology announced May 25, 2021, (LINK) that a leading German semiconductor manufacturer to the automotive industry has selected its PlasmaPro®100 Cobra® system for the development of next generation GaN power electronic devices.

The PlasmaPro®100 Cobra® system is designed for superior uniformity, high- precision and low-damage process solutions. The production-proven system allows for rapid change between wafer sizes up to 200 mm and the cost of ownership is one of the lowest in the market.

The PlasmaPro®100 Cobra® system will be incorporated into the R&D section and will be used for development of GaN power devices. GaN power devices are gaining market share in fast charger applications and offer benefits in Electric Vehicle power management systems.

We continue to see very encouraging signals in the form of increasingly proactive customer engagement and clear market preparation and positioning activities from significant industry players for the emerging Wide Band Gap power electronic market.

"Our Atomic Scale Processing etch solution being selected by this world leading manufacturer for their GaN power electronics programme is an important strategic win for Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology" comments Klaas Wisniewski, Plasma Technology’s Strategic Business Development Director, who also added: "The GaN based power electronic market is very dynamic with improvements to both performance and cost expected at each design iteration.. This reiterates the importance of our strategy to focus on atomic scale processing solutions such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) and atomic layer etching (ALE). We are pleased that such a leading automotive semiconductor company recognizes the benefits our solutions deliver.

The PlasmaPro 100 ALE delivers precise process control of etching for next-generation semiconductor devices. Specially designed for processes such as recess etching for GaN HEMT applications and nanoscale layer etching, the system's digital/cyclical etch process offers low damage, smooth surfaces.

• Digital/Cyclical etch process – etching equivalent of ALD
• Low damage
• Smooth etch surface
• Superb etch depth control
• Ideal for nanoscale layer etching (e.g. 2D Materials)
• Wide range of processes and applications