Technology
The
technology to laminate thin gallium nitride films on a silicone or sapphire
substrate to build a gallium nitride semiconductor is widespread at the present
stage. Quality is important because different kinds of materials are laminated,
and reliability is significant because a power semiconductor requires
resistance against high current. This is why a gallium nitride semiconductor is
not used for power semiconductors. A gallium nitride power semiconductor loses
less energy than the existing silicon power semiconductor, but its resistance
increases in high voltage operation. Rohm opened up the road to the practical
application of a gallium nitride power semiconductor by controlling this
phenomenon. The company will ship samples to prospective customers shortly to improve
high-frequency power source and address measures against noise with them to
achieve a higher than 1 MHz switching frequency.
The
technology to build a substrate entirely of gallium nitride is also being
developed. However, it costs too much to build a gallium nitride substrate at
present. The production cost of a gallium nitride substrate of 2 inch in
diameter is 100,000-150,000 yen that is 50 times higher than a sapphire
substrate used for LEDs. However, Sumitomo Electric, the dominant producer of gallium
nitride substrates, will increase the diameter of its products from 2 inches to
6 inches, and Mitsubishi Chemical plans to increase the production capacity of
gallium nitride substrates to reduce the price to one tenth. Building the
foundation to expand the gallium nitride semiconductor market is in
progress.
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