IFW Dresden selects Agnitron Agilis 100 MOCVD platform for precursor chemistry and ultra-wide-bandgap materials development

News: Suppliers Agnitron Technology Inc of Chanhassen, MN, USA says that its Agilis 100 MOCVD system has been selected by the Institute for Materials Chemistry (IMC) at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW) Dresden, Germany, for its MOCVD and ALD Competence Centre. The Competence Centre chose the Agilis 100 to support its research in precursor chemistry and the development of metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and atomic layer depoisition (ALD) processes. IFW Dresden is known for developing innovative chemistries aimed at enabling new semiconductor device categories. A key driver for selecting the Agnitron tool was the need to deploy newly synthesized, low-vapor-pressure precursors in a flexible R&D reactor and demonstrate their utility in real processes. The installed configuration combines an approach for thermally controlling specialty precursors from ampule to wafer with a patented showerhead designed for robust delivery and repeatability. “We found partnering with Agnitron provided us with the flexibility we need and the support required to execute our plan to synthesize and test new precursors in a commercial reactor,’ comments professor Anjana Devi, director of IFW Dresden’s MOCVD and ALD Competence Centre. Picture: IFW director professor Anjana Devi with the Agnitron Agilis 100 MOCVD system. The centre’s initial focus will be on growing aluminium nitride (AlN) alloyed with scandium using the new metal-organic precursors being developed. The ultra-wide-bandgap semiconductor alloy scandium aluminium nitride (ScAlN) has a dramatically boosted piezoelectric coefficient and strong spontaneous polarization. ScAlN is expected to play a transformative role in next-generation high-frequency, high-power, and acoustic semiconductor devices, enabling improved bandwidth, signal quality, and thermal stability. “Due to the success and performance of the Agilis 100 installed and growing material, we’ve chosen Agnitron to provide us with a second MOCVD system to further enhance our precursor development for oxide thin films,” notes Dr Harish Parala, who heads the Nanostructured Thin Film Materials Research Team at IFW Dresden. “The second growth system will allow us to use and test our new gallium chemistries to grow gallium oxide (Ga2O3) thin films.” Ga2O3 is another ultra-wide-bandgap semiconductor, and Agnitron holds the record for the purity of this material grown by MOCVD. The combination of IFW Dresden’s chemistry development and Agnitron’s Ga2O3 MOCVD equipment and process expertise is expected to accelerate progress toward reliable oxide thin-film growth. “IFW Dresden represents the ideal partner: a world-class research team with excellent facilities for creating cutting-edge materials perfect for the Agilis 100 platform which employs patented showerhead and low-vapor-pressure chemistry delivery system,” comments Agnitron’s founder & CEO Dr Andrei Osinsky. “We’re thrilled to enable their ScAlN roadmap today and grateful for their confidence in scaling the oxide program with a second system. Together, we’re turning promising materials into reliable, industrially relevant processes.” Bristol installs gallium oxide MOCVD systemAgnitron develops MOCVD capability for 10kV+ beta-phase gallium oxide switchesAlNScAlN MOCVDwww.ifw-dresden.dewww.agnitron.com