February 22, 2012 — MCLR’s factory in Vladimir, Russia, will manufacture substrates and panels for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) requiring thermal management, as well as other electronic devices such as 3D ICs and micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS). The new plant is a collaboration between state-held RUSNANO and Micro Components Ltd. (MCL), an Israeli high-tech company, with direct input from Tamir Fishman CIG, a venture capital fund created by Russian Venture Company.
Total budget for the project is 868 million rubles. Of that sum, RUSNANO is cofinancing 120 million rubles. The substrate manufacturing project went from initial financing to commercial production in 14 months.
In phase 1, the Vladimir MCLR factory will produce 10,000 panels/month, which can be manufactured into more than 1 million LED lamps. By 2015, MCLR expects the factory to run at its 70,000 panels/month capacity. The venture plans to earn 2.8 million rubles annually by this time, with 72% of that from substrates for assembly of electronic devices and 28% from LED module substrates.
The project is based on MCL’s proprietary ALOX substrate technology, with an aluminum or copper conducting layer and a dielectric material with nanopourous structure. ALOX technology lowers the temperature of the LED crystal with rapid heat sink, using selectively staged aluminum oxidation in which dielectric material is obtained on the surface of the metal and in its depths. Drilling and plating of perforations are not required with ALOX because the interconnections are made entirely of aluminum and the dielectric material is made of high-quality ceramic.
ALOX-built substrates demonstrate good thermal reliability, with improved heat conductivity, cost (20-30% below), and reliability (2x) over traditional products. The product can also be recycled, unlike glass textolite materials. ALOX can be used to package microwave electronics, system-in-package (SiP) devices, 3D memory chip stacks, MEMS devices, and power semiconductor modules and components.
MCLR reports that leading international players in the LED market are considering the nanostructured substrates.
Yan Ryazantsev, director of the Investment and Expertise Department and member of the Executive Committee, Russian Venture Company, called MCLR an example of successfully importing "the latest foreign technology" to establish "large-scale commercial manufacturing in Russia," with products that can be sold internationally. Also read: RUSNANO, Japan tighten nano ties
RUSNANO was founded in March 2011, through reorganization of state corporation Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies, to develop the Russian nanotechnology industry. The Government of the Russian Federation owns 100% of the shares in RUSNANO. Russian Venture Company is a state fund of funds, an institute for development of the Russian Federation, and one of the government’s key instruments in its effort to build a national innovation system.