Raleigh, North Carolina–Nitronex Corp., one of the first wireless components suppliers to focus exclusively on GaN, today announced that it is producing the industry’s first GaN-based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) on low-cost, 4-in. silicon wafers. Until now, industry efforts were limited to 2-in. wafers.

The company also announced that it is consistently obtaining room temperature two-dimensional electron gas mobilities exceeding 1600 cm2/Vs on GaN-based HEMTs deposited on 4-in. silicon. This is one of the highest electron mobilities ever reported for GaN transistors, helping demonstrate the high quality of Nitronex’s material.

“These significant accomplishments will help make wireless GaN transistors a commercial reality,” said Bob Lynch, Nitronex’s president and CEO. “This work is a direct result of the unparalleled intellectual property that Nitronex has and continues to develop by focusing exclusively on GaN. By combining the performance benefits of GaN with the cost advantages of large-area silicon substrates, Nitronex is poised to set the standard for high-power, high-frequency power amplifiers.”

The results reported today were achieved using Nitronex’s proprietary metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth equipment and deposition process. The patent-pending PENDEO processing developed by company engineers reduces GaN crystal defects by more than 100,000 times relative to conventional growth techniques, according to the company.

Nitronex also reports that DC and RF device measurements are exceeding expectations, and the company anticipates announcing initial results and product studies in early second quarter 2001.