Monocrystal ofStavropol, Russia, a grower and processor of synthetic Sapphire, announced that the company has supplied its 150-millionth two-inch equivalent (TIE) product. Since its founding in 1999, Monocrystal has changed from a niche sapphire company into a well-established high-volume supplier. The company says it now provides a stable stock of Sapphire wafers for over 130 customers globally.
The company grows all of its synthetic Sapphire wafers using the Kyropoulos method. The Kyropoulos growth method requires rotating a seed in contact with the melt. However, the crystal is not pulled out of the melt. While still inside the crucible, the melt is cooled in a very controlled way. The Kyropoulos method has been adopted widely because of its ability to produce very large (up to 100 kg) high-quality sapphire crystals.
In April the company introduced its Ultra-Clean Sapphire wafers for precision optoelectronic applications including micro-LEDs.
“Historically more than 60% out of 150 million TIE have been large diameter wafers and ingots for LED. We are now seeing an increasing demand for our 6-inch wafers since major LED manufacturers prefer our product due to its impeccable performance during nitride growth,” Monocrystal’s CEO Oleg Kachalov commented.
Monocrystal Says its Wafers Enhance Wavelength Uniformity
“Monocrystal’s low-stress wafers demonstrate low thermal bow in the epitaxial process. As a result, our customers get tighter wavelength uniformity and increase their binning yields by 2-3%, which is significant for high volume production. 6-inch wafers are yet to become the driver of efficiency improvement, while Monocrystal’s customers are already enjoying the benefits of stable yields and lower costs,” Kachalov said
“The LED industry has made significant progress over the past few years, but still there are future opportunities. For instance, micro-LEDs seem to be a feasible and promising technology. Monocrystal has already delivered ultra-clean wafers for this application. We have several initiatives running to support customers engaged in micro-LED development,” VP Marketing Ludmila Zubova noted.
