Beneq’s Transform® ALD Tool Qualified for High-Volume GaN Power Device Production by Leading Asian Manufacturer

Beneq has announced the qualification of its Transform® ALD cluster tool for high-volume production of GaN-based power devices on 8-inch GaN-on-Si wafers by a major Tier 1 manufacturer in Asia. This achievement marks a significant step in the adoption of Beneq’s ALD technology for high-performance, scalable, and reliable GaN semiconductor applications, which are essential for power electronics and RF devices in sectors such as automotive, datacenters, and consumer electronics. The Transform system’s unique three-step process—including plasma-based surface pre-cleaning, plasma-enhanced ALD, and thermal ALD—ensures high-quality dielectric integration for wide-bandgap semiconductors like GaN and SiC.

Beneq Transform® establishes a completely new class of ALD cluster tool products in it’s versatility and adaptability to address a broad range of applications and market segments. Beneq Transform® configure with multiple ALD process modules to meet a specific wafer capacity requirement or be later upgraded in response to growing volumes or with new ALD applications. (Beneq.com)

According to Yole Intelligence, the power GaN market is set to surpass $2.2 billion by 2029, growing at a robust 41% CAGR from 2023. This tenfold expansion since 2019 is driven primarily by consumer electronics—especially fast chargers—followed by strong momentum in automotive, data center, telecom, and industrial applications. GaN's adoption is expanding into 300W mobile chargers, automotive LiDAR and onboard chargers (OBCs), high-efficiency power supplies for data centers, and future intermediate bus converters. Bidirectional GaN devices and applications in e-bikes, home appliances, and over-voltage protection (OVP) units are also contributing to market penetration.

The ecosystem is rapidly evolving, with over $4 billion invested in Power GaN since 2019 and major M&A activity including Infineon’s acquisition of GaN Systems and Renesas buying Transphorm. IDMs like STMicroelectronics, Nexperia, and Samsung are building capacity, while 8-inch GaN-on-Si is becoming standard, and early work on 12-inch is underway. Technical advances include 1200V GaN devices, bidirectional switches, and GaN-on-QST substrates. While the market is promising, failures like NexGen and BelGaN highlight the risks and capital intensity required for success​. (Yole Development)

The Beneq Transform tool's vacuum-integrated cluster design supports nitride and oxide film deposition with high throughput and competitive cost-of-ownership, making it suitable for HEMTs, integrated circuits, and vertical devices. Seventeen Transform units are now deployed globally in GaN manufacturing and R&D. The company also strengthens its GaN process innovation through its partnership with imec, where a newly installed Transform system supports ongoing research in GaN surface treatment and dielectric integration.

Key Features of the Transform GaN ALD Process

1. Three-Step ALD Process (Proprietary Architecture):

• Plasma-based surface pre-cleaning: Critical for removing contaminants and native oxides from GaN or SiC surfaces to ensure interface integrity.
• Plasma-enhanced ALD (PEALD) of interfacial layers: Enables low-temperature, conformal deposition with precise control, which is essential for GaN where thermal budgets are constrained.
• Thermal ALD of dielectric films: Offers dense and high-quality films with excellent electrical properties for gate dielectrics and passivation layers.

2. Materials Supported:

• Nitrides: AlN, SiN – important for barrier layers, passivation, or etch stops.
• Oxides: Al₂O₃, HfO₂, SiO₂ – used for gate dielectrics, field plates, and interface engineering.

Sources:

Beneq Transform® Qualified for GaN Power Device Production by Tier 1 Asian Manufacturer

Yole Group - Follow the latest trend news in the Semiconductor Industry