On September 2, 2021, the gallium antimonide substrate semiconductor material and gallium antimonide laser chip project invested and constructed by ZKBD Semiconductor Materials Technology Corporation has now entered the commercial production stage and will reach a production capacity of 28,000 chips/Year chip. Become the country's first fourth-generation semiconductor production line.
Focusing on the core technology of gallium antimonide semiconductor laser chips, the development of gallium antimonide high-power laser chips and single-mode laser chips will be widely used in different fields such as laser processing and medical cutting.
At present, the main systems with great development potential to become the fourth-generation semiconductor technology include: narrow band gap gallium antimonide and indium arsenide compound semiconductors; ultra-wide band gap oxide materials; other types of low-dimensional materials such as carbon-based nanomaterials, Two-dimensional atomic crystal materials, etc.
The antimonide semiconductor in the new system occupies the core position of the fourth-generation semiconductor. Antimonide semiconductors, as a classic III-V family system, have regained widespread attention at the beginning of this century. Since 2009, foreign countries have listed antimonide semiconductor-related materials and devices as export blockade and monopoly technologies.
Professor Niu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, once said that antimonide semiconductors have unique and irreplaceable advantages in the development of next-generation small size, light weight, low power consumption, low-cost devices, and extremely demanding applications. China's antimonide superlattice detector and quantum well laser technology are entering the stage of industrial application development.
Since 2005, China's antimonide semiconductor research has entered the fast lane. Research institutions such as ZKBD and SH Institute of Technical Physics took the lead in breaking through the gallium antimonide-based indium arsenide/gallium antimonide superlattice focal plane technology, and its performance basically maintained the level of international development. ZKBD Institute has also developed a variety of gallium antimonide-based indium gallium arsenide antimony quantum well lasers.
"Compared with foreign countries, China's infrared devices and integrated components have a long-term technological gap, which cannot meet the replacement and development of related equipment and technology. Antimonide semiconductor optoelectronic devices have excellent performance and low prices, and have key advantages to resolve this contradiction. China's research results in antimonide semiconductor technology provide a way to catch up.
Today, China's antimonide superlattice detectors and quantum well laser technologies are entering the stage of industrial application development. For example, the gallium antimonide substrate developed by ZKBD has achieved mass production of 2-3 inches in diameter substrates, with a maximum size of 4 inches; at the same time, it has achieved 2-3 inches in diameter and 500-1000 pieces of antimonide per year. The development of low-dimensional material epitaxial wafers has developed 4-inch molecular beam epitaxial technology, breaking through the foreign blockade, and ensuring the sustainability of China's independent research and development of antimonide semiconductor technology.