As one of the few high-tech enterprises in the world that master large-scale, high-quality third-generation / fourth-generation ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor aluminum nitride wafer substrates, and aluminum nitride template mass production technology, HZAQ Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.'s core product All are included in the "Made in China 2025" key strategic new materials and equipment catalog.
In recent years, HZAQ has continuously broken through the technical bottleneck and developed the world's largest high-quality aluminum nitride single crystal substrate with a diameter of 60mm and the world's leading deep ultraviolet transmittance. It has independently developed a subversive, high-performance mass production The process patent technology of silicon-based and sapphire-based aluminum nitride film templates is of great significance for breaking foreign monopolies, filling the gaps in China in this field, and realizing localized replacement of products.
At the end of last year, HZAQ invested and built a mass production line for 1 inch/2 inch high-quality aluminum nitride monocrystalline substrates, and the world's first 2/4/6 inch aluminum nitride film template mass production line was officially put into production.
Break through technical barriers
In April last year, HZAQ was invited by the Nobel Prize winner Professor Hiroshi Amano as the chairperson of the conference to officially launch the world’s first batch of 60mm aluminum nitride at the LED Industrial Application International Conference (LEDIA-2019) held in Yokohama, Japan. Single crystal substrate product samples.
"Prior to this, the United States had a maximum diameter of 2 inches (50.8mm) in global aluminum nitride single crystal and wafer manufacturing, and it had a long-term technology monopoly." HZAQ CEO and general manager Wu Liang told the Hay Think team Introduced.
This breakthrough also means that China has become the second country after the United States with the ability to prepare 2-inch aluminum nitride single crystal substrates, laying the foundation for the next large-scale application and industrialization of related products.
Aluminum nitride is a typical representative of the third/fourth generation of ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor materials. It has broad application prospects in the fields of ultraviolet LEDs, ultraviolet detection chips, ultraviolet lasers, 5G radio frequency front-end filters, national defense, military industry, and aerospace. Has become one of the most concerned new semiconductor materials today. But also because aluminum nitride crystal growth and its substrate preparation have extremely high technical barriers, the threshold for entering this field is greatly increased.
At present, HZAQ has realized to provide many customers with products and equipment such as 2/4/6 inch sapphire base aluminum nitride film template, 4 inch/6 inch silicon base aluminum nitride film template, aluminum nitride single crystal vapor deposition furnace, etc. High-quality aluminum nitride monocrystalline substrate products of various sizes such as inches/2 inches are also advancing rapidly, and it is expected that small quantities will be supplied to the domestic and international markets in the fourth quarter of this year.
As of July 2020, HZAQ has applied for/authorized 36 international and domestic patents. It is one of the companies with the largest number of applications and authorized patents in the field of aluminum nitride materials worldwide. HZAQ also took the lead in the provincial 2020 key R&D project (topic) "R&D and application of third-generation semiconductor substrates and epitaxial materials-2 inch aluminum nitride wafer substrate preparation and UV photoelectric device R&D and demonstration application" . At the same time, entrusted by the intraocular lens technical committee, it will be responsible for formulating two industry standards for aluminum nitride single crystal and aluminum nitride single crystal defect determination methods; invited by the International Semiconductor Industry Association (SEMI), will participate in the international standard for aluminum nitride wafers Formulate.
"Next, while maintaining the R&D progress, we will also increase the mass production of most of our products. It is expected that the total production capacity of 300,000 aluminum nitride film templates and high-quality aluminum nitride monocrystalline substrates will be reached in 2022." Wu Liang said .
At the beginning of this year, HZAQ released a high-performance 4-inch/6-inch silicon-based aluminum nitride film template for 5G RF front-end filter applications. It is worth noting that HZAQ is also the first company in China with the mass production capacity of this product.
"The 5G era is coming, and silicon-based aluminum nitride film template products will usher in an unprecedented explosive blue ocean market."
In the 5G era, the demand for radio frequency filters for a single smartphone is about 72-75, which is at least 80% higher than that of a single 4G mobile phone. China has become the world's largest filter consumer market. Among the known filter piezoelectric materials, aluminum nitride has the fastest acoustic wave propagation speed and excellent piezoelectric properties. In a good application prospect, silicon-based aluminum nitride Film templates will play a greater market role in emerging industries.