Kyma Technologies, Inc., a leading supplier of ultra-high purity crystalline gallium nitride (GaN) and aluminum nitride (AlN) materials and related products and services, today announced that it has completed tests on its new in-house developed diamond wire manufacturing tool and is now taking orders for both diamond wire and diamond wire makers.

Kyma’s new diamond wire maker  provides several key benefits over competing approaches, including:

• Low thermal budget means no degradation of core wire tensile strength
• Rapid coating and fixing rate and very high diamond source utilization efficiency means low manufacturing cost
• Elimination of plating baths and associated electroplating electronics and power supplies
• Small footprint

Kyma uses this diamond wire for its own GaN wafering needs because it supports high wafering yields and minimizes materials waste.  Key features include excellent wire strength and lifetime, low kerf loss, and minimal subsurface damage.  Another benefit is elimination of potential contaminants inherent in a slurry-based cutting process.

Kyma’s Chief Engineer, Dr. Bob Metzger, said, “We demand a great deal of our diamond wire, with the need to cleanly and quickly cut through the toughest of all materials found in the semiconductor industry – GaN, AlN, SiC and Sapphire.  Not only does our in-house manufactured wire perform as well or better on these demanding applications as anything we’ve been able to buy on the open market, but we achieve this at a significantly reduced cost.  It quickly became apparent to us, that if this technology could handle our demanding production needs at a lower cost, that both the diamond wire maker as well as the wire would undoubtedly make great products for any company with diamond wire cutting needs – running the full gamut from those with large needs that could benefit from their own in-house diamond wire capabilities, to those who only need the occasional spool of diamond wire.  We’d be happy to discuss the applications and needs of potential customers to determine how our diamond wire maker and diamond wire could best serve them, with the added benefit of passing along the real-world experience we’ve gained with this tool and the diamond wire it produces in our own sawing applications.ˮ

Interested parties are invited to contact Kyma to discuss their specific needs (see below).

About Kyma Technologies

Kyma is a leading supplier of crystalline gallium nitride (GaN) and aluminum nitride (AlN) materials for a broad range of high performance nitride semiconductor device applications.

The market for nitride semiconductor devices is expected to surpass $9B by 2010. The combined addressable market for GaN and AlN substrates is expected to surpass $500M by 2010.

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

Kyma is a registered trademark of Kyma Technologies, Inc.