Kyma Technologies, Inc., a leading supplier of low defect density native gallium nitride (GaN) substrates, had a key role in both the 6 th International Conference on Nitride Semiconductors (ICNS-6) and an invitation-only workshop entitled "Challenges in Bulk Nitride Growth: Future Directions and Measures" held just after ICNS-6. Both events were held in Bremen, Germany during the week of August 28 - September 3, 2005.

 

At ICNS-6, Dr. Keith Evans, company CEO and president, and Drew Hanser, company CTO and vice president business development, co-chaired a "Rump Session" on The Future of Bulk Nitride Crystal Growth. Evans and Hanser organized the session into talks given by leading nitride community experts and a joint panel discussion as follows:

• Special Overview: Free-Standing GaN: Current Status and Perspectives
  • Dr. Jean-Pierre Faurie (Lumilog)
• Special Overview: Properties of III-V/Nitride Bulk Crystals and Epitaxial Films
  • Dr. Jaime Freitas (US Naval Research Laboratory)
• Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) on Bulk Nitrides
  • Dr. Zlatko Sitar (North Carolina State University)
• High Pressure & HVPE GaN
  • Dr. Iza Grzegory (TopGaN)
• Free-Standing GaN from HVPE Boules
  • Dr. Drew Hanser (Kyma Technologies)
• Free-Standing AlN from Sublimation of AlN Boules
  • Dr. Joseph Smart (Crystal IS)
• True Bulk Aluminum Nitride Wafers: Status and Challenges
  • Dr. Yuri Makarov (The Fox Group and Nitride Crystals Ltd.)
• Bulk GaN Overview
  • Mr. Greg Mills (Cree)
• Joint Panel Discussion

The Rump Session addressed progress in bulk crystal growth research and development and future development needs towards realizing commercially viable free-standing GaN and AlN substrates. Much discussion centered on which markets and applications would benefit the most from bulk substrates and what technological roadblocks exist that must be surmounted to realize commercial success.

In the invitation-only post-conference workshop entitled "Challenges in Bulk Nitride Growth: Future Directions and Measures," Evans and Hanser joined other leading nitride semiconductor experts to plan the next Workshop on Bulk Nitride Semiconductors, which was last held in Zakopane, Poland during September 4-9, 2004.

About Bulk Nitride Semiconductors

Bulk nitride semiconductors currently under development are expected to provide critical advances in cost, performance, and reliability of a broad range of nitride semiconductor devices for a broad range of commercial markets and applications including power switching electronics, high power radio-frequency electronics, solid state lighting, optical storage, bioagent and chemical sensing, and ultraviolet light detection. The combined market potential for nitride semiconductor devices is expected to exceed $25B in 2015.

About Kyma Technologies

Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Kyma Technologies Inc. was co-founded in 1998 by the company's chief operating officer Mark Williams and chief technical officer Drew Hanser. As graduate students, Williams and Hanser both performed research developing III-nitride materials manufacturing processes at North Carolina State University (NCSU) under the direction of internationally renowned professors Jerry Cuomo and Bob Davis, respectively. Kyma has developed a strong IP portfolio through exclusive license to certain NCSU patents for III-nitride materials manufacturing technology and continuing development of patented technology. Kyma has secured three rounds of venture capital funding and has benefited from strong support by US DoD agencies and DoE, beginning in 1998 with an STTR program funded by BMDO (now called MDA) and monitored by Dr. Colin Wood of the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The company's business focus is to deliver GaN substrates to device manufacturers in the optoelectronic and microelectronic market spaces.

For more information about Kyma Technologies, please visit our website www.kymatech.com, send us e-mail at info@kymatech.com, or call the company directly at 919.789.8880.

Kyma is a registered trademark of Kyma Technologies, Inc.