Valence Process Equipment, Inc. (VPE) has announced the commercial release of the VPE GaN-500 MOCVD system, a new metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system for production of high-brightness light emitting diodes (LEDs). The VPE system includes a reactor that is designed around a novel (patent pending) chamber and gas-injector, resulting in the highly efficient use of pre-cursor gases. The system has a capacity of 59 two-inch wafers with a future upgrade path to 72 two-inch or 20 four-inch wafers.

Frank Campanale, CEO of VPE, commented: "One of the biggest single factors contributing to the cost of an LED wafer is the volume of chemicals used in the MOCVD process. The novel chamber and gas injector design in the VPE GaN-500 MOCVD result in highly efficient use of gas and pre-cursor chemicals when compared to MOCVD systems currently in the market.  The GaN-500 has been field tested in a customer fab for more than one year. Over the course of hundreds of runs, materials performance, gas consumption, and machine reliability have been extensively monitored and validated. We are extremely excited to report that this testing has confirmed that our product can produce wafer uniformities and growth rates that are comparable with established systems, while at the same time consuming up to 40% less gases and chemicals. "

In addition to low gas consumption, the VPE GaN-500 is designed to combine high reliability with low operating and maintenance costs. Wherever possible, the system uses standard off-the-shelf materials, so customers can make use of existing stocks of spares. Custom parts, such as chamber and heater components, are deliberately designed to minimize complexity, reducing maintenance and service costs.

"The focus on low COO does not compromise material quality" according to Tom Ryan, well-known characterization expert and VPE’s VP of Product Management. "The design of the VPE chamber permits very rapid temperature ramping combined with fast stabilization and highly efficient gas switching. This leads to precise control of the MQW growth and excellent device properties".